Whispers From the Past
by witchlover
Summary: An evil,alternate life is haunting Will and it has unleashed a creature that confuses them from dreams and reality.Is this the end of the Guardians,or will they find a way out of terror's midsts. Complete!
1. Just a Dream?

This story is based after the 13th W.I.T.C.H. book, so it might be a good idea to read up to that point to understand what's going on. I only read the U.S. books so I have no clue to what's going on in the comics, I swear.

**Disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H. or any of its characters. Oh and for those out there who don't already know, the 14th book just came out. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 1: Just a Dream?**

Will's POV 

Will's big, brown eyes dawned on the scene before her. She wasn't even sure if it was real. Everything was too perfect to be real, but here she was standing there in the plain daylight. Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin were all there, but nobody was fighting. There were no tears from lost loves and no mean nicknames. They were just being average teenagers talking about getting out of school and giggling about boys while licking scoops of ice-cream. Will was even amazed that her mom was there since they had been fighting like cats and dogs lately.

She gasped and her mouth dropped when she noticed the cute brown-haired boy sitting across from Cornelia. Matt Olsen, her crush since the first time she saw him at the Halloween dance, was actually waving at her and calling her name to come sit and have some ice-cream. Her feet felt like Jell-O as she slowly made her way to the table. I don't think I can talk! She thought panicky. He really wants me to sit next to him. Oh he is too cute!

She stopped when she saw the way Taranee was looking at her. She was smiling like she was very amused at something. Will's eyebrows furrowed with confusement until she realized something with horror. Taranee could read minds! The girls would know about her mondo crush on Matt for sure. Good going! Taranee busted out laughing from what other people would think was from nothing at all. Will blushed deeply as her face turned the same color as her hair and the girls started giggling. She pushed hair behind her ears and sat down awkwardly next to Matt. Now she actually had a good look at everyone at the table, including someone who wasn't supposed to be there, someone who she thought she would never see again. She gasped because now she knew that somehow what was happening couldn't be real because the Queen of Meridian couldn't possibly be sitting at a picnic table eating ice-cream like a teenager. Elyon couldn't really be here.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Elyon asked worryingly. "Is something wrong?" Will had been so dazed at the presence of Elyon being in Heatherfield instead of Meridian, that she shook her head with confusion as Elyon looked at her with her eyebrows raised. Something was wrong. She just had that feeling again, like when she could tell that there was a portal nearby. It was like her instinct. She leaned in over to Elyon to whisper in her ear.

"Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be in Meridian with your people?"

Elyon was surprised at first but then was clouded over by a shadow of grief. She stuttered while trying to find the right words.

"Phobos beat me. He has the throne now. I just only got away. Wait a second, how do you not remember all of this?" her expression turned from sad to questioning as Will jumped to her feet, looking at everyone. Everything is backwards! We beat Phobos! He is in custody of Candracar residing in the Tower of Mists. If Phobos did beat Elyon, I know he wouldn't have let her go. This isn't real! Will thrummed at her head searching for answers. Whoever put her up to this dream needed to get her out. She knew that things were about to get worse.

"Did you hear me?" she shouted out this time. "I said this isn't real! This has to be a dream!"

Her head suddenly felt like it was split in two as a wave of dizziness more powerful than ever caused her to fall backwards. She would have hit the ground too if Irma hadn't reached out right at the last second. While hoisting Will up, she stared at Hay Lin who was looking at her hands in amazement.

"I was trying to keep her from falling on the ground, but nothing happened! Where are my powers?" she exclaimed.

All of a sudden, Will shrieked out in pain as a loud voice boomed in her head. Her mother started running to her frantically and all Matt could do was stare at her nimbly.

" WILL! YOU'RE RIGHT. THIS ISN'T REAL!" the familiar voice thundered causing her to shriek with pain again. "BUT THIS ISN'T A DREAM, IT'S A NIGHTMARE!"

Will's eyes opened but everything was kind of blurry because her head was still throbbing. She started to gain clear focus and realized that things weren't good. Her mother was frantic. She was running around screaming for help before she had realized that her daughter was okay. Matt was looking at her with a mix of worry and confusion. I know just how you feel, Matt she started to think while rubbing her head. Her friends, she knew, were used to her sudden "attacks", but they still looked worried as well. It had never happened that badly before.

"Will, are you okay? That seemed worse than usual." Cornelia asked with concern. The others were nodding, also with concern for their friend. Everyone that is, except for Hay Lin. Will found that unusual for Hay Lin. She was always the one to cheer people up and make them feel okay. Right now, she only had eyes for what was above them and was breathing very shallowly.

"You guys look! I've never seen clouds come that fast!" she yelled pointing up at the swirling mass of black clouds blacking out the once sunny and bright sky like a black canvas covering a painting. Thunder roared in their ears as lightning flashed dangerously close by. In fact, it was too close.

"Aggghhhh! Watch out for the tree!" Irma screamed grabbing Hay Lin and Matt while running away from the bolt of lighting heading straight for the tree that was towering them. Will looked frantically over to Taranee who was beating against the hurtling bolt with all her strength. Beads of sweat were trickling down her forehead, but the lightning still didn't stop for a split second when it split the tree in two and burst into flames.

"Everything is burning!" her mom yelled while trying to call the fire department on her cell phone. "Will! Get over her now!" she demanded.

Will didn't even think twice about it.

"Not without Taranee!" she yelled over her head as she started running as fast as her skinny legs could take her to her best friend. Will came up to her as she was trying to calm down the flames. Taranee looked exhausted but determined even though she was bewildered that nothing was happening.

"Taranee!" she panted. "These flames are too high to mess with without transforming. You could hurt yourself. Taranee!" Will sighed with relief when Taranee finally backed down and started moving towards her. They started to run to the others, but not before Will shivered and looked back.

"Why are you stopping!" Taranee shouted looking back at her

"There's something evil behind that tree!" she yelled over her head, and before Taranee could stop her, Will spun around and started running back towards the burning tree.

"I know something's here and I'm going to find out-" she choked on her sentence as she looked behind the tree and gasped. Out of all the things she expected to see, a Metamoorian monster, an evil history teacher, this was diffidently something surprising, something very creepy. She was looking at herself.

This girl was Will, but with a few minor differences. She was older, exactly like Will's transformed self. Instead though, of having Will's purple bell-sleeved top and green mini skirt with beautiful flowery wings, she was dressed in all black and had no wings. The creepiest part was her eyes. They were not Will's warm, brown eyes that always seemed so cozy and knowing. Her eyes were cold and resentful and they added a soulless expression to her gaunt face. She looked positively evil. Her face spread out into a greedy grin when she saw Will. She looked a little too happy to see the young Guardian.

"So, the little Guardian brat has decided to be a little snoopy." She snickered at Will when she gasped at hearing her own voice of when she transformed, come out of this imposter's mouth. She finally regained herself enough to speak.

"Who are you?" she demanded gathering courage although the girl's glare really scared her. "How can you look like me?"

The evil Will smiled broadly again. She started swirling a lot of white magic from her fingertips while staring down the real Will.

"You know. It doesn't really matter who I am because you won't really live long enough to entirely greet me. Since I have your powers, you can do nothing to stop me from getting what is also properly mine, the HEART OF CANDRACAR!"

She struck so fast, Will barely had time to react as a force so powerful that had once resided in her body pounded her against the tree screaming. Evil Will glinted madly as a bright pink light burst from Will's chest. The Heart of Candracar started moving away from her. She struggled, but she was getting weak. She really didn't have her powers! She had an empty feeling in her stomach as she felt her heart getting taken away from her. Someone far away screamed her name, but she couldn't resist the fact that she had lost when the blinding white light tore through her and surrounded her in nothing but darkness.

Will gasped as she pulled the covers off of her for a breathe of fresh air. It was still dark outside. She reached for her alarm clock that read 2:37 am. She heard her dormouse skittering around her room as she wiped sweat off her forehead. Everything was so confusing! What just happened? Will wondered, rubbing her eyes. She was still shaking, and she was still scared to death. An empty feeling was rising in her and she just had to make sure everything was all right. Thrusting out her hand, she felt wind blow her hair back and power flow through her. She sighed with relief as she saw the Heart of Candracar floating above her palm, like it always had. She was still shaking though and took deep breaths.

"I guess I didn't die. The fire, Elyon, the evil Will it wasn't real. It was all just a dream." She mumbled through an uncomfortable sleep. She tossed and turned until she finally calmed down.

"Yes, just a dream."

One thought stayed with her through the night as she tried to sleep peacefully until the next morning when she would awake to the surprise of a lifetime:

"But are things how they always seem to be?"

Hey! I hope you liked that chapter. I'll have the next chapter up next week because I've got exams I've got to study for. Summer vacation is in a week for me so I'll be able to write more then. I know it's a bit rushed. Please review the story! I want to know if anyone likes it. Bit of a cliff- hanger to leave to you for a week though, huh?


	2. Family Matters

1I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I had exams this week so I was studying and doing homework. School's out though(finally) so I can probably write more. Please review! Chapter 3 should come in a couple of days. I won't continue if I don't know if people like it or not.

**Chapter 2: Family Matters**

Will's POV

Will turned over in her bed and squinted in the morning sunlight pouring through her window. Stuffed frogs lined her windowsill and were grinning up at her with bulging eyes. Ugh, like they didn't have anything to worry about she thought rubbing her eyes gently. I couldn't sleep at all last night because of that dream.

Her thoughts turned back to that evil looking reflection of herself, her Guardian self that is. The black outfit, her gleaming sneer, and those eyes... it made her shiver thinking about how she got the Heart of Candracar. It felt too real. Will shook her head with her foggy dreams and slipped into some jeans and a blue shirt with a light jacket and then walked cautiously into the kitchen to peek her head around the corner. Her mom was reading the newspaper and sipping coffee with a stern look on her face. Will could tell that she was still angry from the arguments that they had been having for the past week.

Even before she had found out that they were moving at the end of the year, they had been battling about everything. Her mom just thought that she was a normal teenager, rebeling against everything that the parent asked, but her mom really had no clue. There was no way she could really know what was going on. She'd flip and we would have to explain everything. There was no way that my mom could deal with this burden, she thought with a nod of her head. Even I can barely deal with being the Keeper of the Heart of Candracar. Even if she was used to it by now, it was still weird to think of her and her friends as "magical" like they were witches or something, like their name suggests. Saving the world from evil didn't help her family matters much though.

Will sighed regretfully and ducked her head completely out view as she planned out her options. Okay, I can start out by saying good morning to bring up her mood. Then I can try to gently talk to her about not moving, she pondered, weighing out the responses from her mother. But would if she-

"Will, I know you're there. Sit down and eat your breakfast." Susan said strictly while getting up from her chair and moving to look her daughter in the eye. Will gulped when her so-called plan abandoned her in the three seconds that she took to smile sheepishly and scramble into her chair. Susan stared at her briefly and then turned to start the dishes. Silence followed for a long time until Will tried really hard to bring up a smile and confront her mom.

"Um, I like the pancakes." she complimented innocently stuffing her mouth full with food to prove that she was really trying to bring up the conversation. Will didn't even know how all their fighting started, but she was determined for it to somewhat end or calm down enough to get in her say. She just had to get her mother to realize the mistake she was making.

"Yeah," Susan replied sarcastically turning towards Will with a glare as she threw down the towel she had been using. "Don't try this one with me young lady! I'm not changing my mind!" Will sucked in a gulp of air, surprised at her sudden outburst. After the shock, she just got mad.

"Why are you yelling at me! I just gave you a compliment!" she complained her face turned red. It was really hard to hold it in now.

"Oh as if you were just trying to be nice! You were trying to butter me up so you can get me to change my mind about moving!

Will gasped with outrage. Even if that was, in fact, what she intended to do, she was even more mad that she couldn't hide the fact from her mom. The only thing she could hide from her was her secret of being a Guardian of the Veil. She instantly remembered the true reason why she couldn't move, and decided to give it another shot. Her temper was flaring and she was aware that her face must have been blending in with her shaggy, red hair, but she took a deep breathe and started again.

"Why won't you ever let me explain about how I feel about moving!" she said through gritted teeth. "You never give me a chance."

"A chance?" Susan repeated, starting to get outraged herself. "You've had pleanty of chances to talk to me and tell me what's going on! Instead, all you do is slam doors in my face and lock yourself in your room or go hide out with your friends for what it seems like days at a time! You've changed Will!" Susan clasped down in a chair and burried her head in her hands. Will was quite and so was, eeirly, the kitchen after Susan's ringing voice in died down. I know I've changed! Will thought desperatly in her head. I'm going around battling evil everyday and I have a magical crystal residing inside of me! I wish you could know about the other Guardians, Candracar, and everything else, but you just can't! It would be a disaster!

And as if just on cue to get her out of this moment, her cellphone rang. She reached in to grab it looking at her mother. She still hadn't moved. Will turned away from her and whispered into the phone.

"What is it?" she asked hurridly looking back at her still motionless mom.

"Will, are we still up for magic practice today? Hey, we really have to talk about Cornelia too." Irma's voice rang through the phone.

"Um, yeah I'll be right there." Will said shutting her phone.

"Mom, I have to go. I'll talk to you later okay?"

Susan lifted her head from her hands to gaze up at Will.

"Oh, you'll talk to me later! That's all I ever get from you!" Will was halfway out the door heading for her bike when Susan put on her coat and grabbed her car keys. "I'm driving you. We can talk now."

"No!" Will shouted startling her mother who already grabbed her arm to lead her away. "I mean, you don't have to drive me." she said in a what she hoped was an innocent voice. Susan gave her a stern look and her eyes were squinting with curriosity. Will gave a carefree, shy type smile as to get away. Her mom couldn't know where she was going.

"I am driving you. I am going to talk to you about setting your priorities straight, but the discussion about moving is here on closed. Do you understand me?" Susan opened the car and got in leaving Will standing still by the front door. Was she really hearing what her mom was saying? Anger rose within her as she walked slowly to the starting car. Susan was just telling her that she wasn't changing her mind. Well, she can try but this is a battle that I have to win, she thought with determination. Nothing, not even my mom can split up the Guardians of the Veil!

I know. It was kind of a filler chapter, but Susan's curriosity leads her to trouble in the next chapter. The third chapter should come in 4 days at tops and the next one will follow. The next chapter is based on the same day, but I promise that you won't have as long a wait as it was for this chapter. Like I said, summer is here so it will be easier. Please review, anonymous or signed.


	3. A Surprise Guest Part One

1Hey everybody! I would have posted this yesterday, but my computer was down. Then the website was down! This is part one of chapter 3 because it was too long. Part two won't be too far off.

**Chapter 3: A Surprise Guest Part One**

Hay Lin's POV

Hay Lin sighed with happiness as a gentle wind blew across her face. Air is so wonderful, she thought as her hair tickled her body. It's so powerful and it lets you fell so light and free! I guess that's why I'm air girl! It seems to make sense that I'm the only one breezy and happy here.

Hay Lin looked around at her two friends shivering next to her behind the construction site that they had been going to lately for magic practice. Irma, the water baby, had her face in a pout as she rubbed her hands together to try to get warm. She was a real comedian cracking a joke even in bad situations.

"Man it's freezing!" she whined jumping from foot to foot. "It's almost summer vacation! What's the deal!"

Taranee rubbed her hands together and concentrated. Suddenly, a small flame of fire flickered in her hands. She smiled, just a little, and held it out to Irma.

"Here Irma. This should help a little. I would have made it bigger but-"

"Yeah, yeah I know." Irma huffed, though taking the warmth gratefully. "Our stupid powers are busted! We get them and then we lose them!" she yelled.

Hay Lin's smile started to stiffen when she realized that Irma was right. Not all of their powers were gone, but they definently didn't work like they used to. Her grandmother said it was because their was a trace of darkness in their friendship, that they lacked a group spirit. They needed Cornelia.

Her thoughts went back to Cornelia sitting locked in her room moping. She understood how she was feeling after losing her true love, Caleb, and everything. What Hay Lin couldn't understand was why Cornelia would lock herself in her room and refuse to speak to her best friends and then yell and argue at them. Yep, she thought dryly. Our team isn't as strong anymore.

Hay Lin shook her thoughts away when Taranee began to speak.

"We need to try to make things better though, I mean with Cornelia. Since our friendship isn't as strong, neither are our powers."

They both nodded and fell silent for a while. It had seemed like a long time since they were all just friends, average teenage girls who went to the Sheffield Institute, girls who complained about schoolwork and gossiped about crushes. Hay Lin knew that they all missed it every now and then, but those days were _so_ over. Hay Lin rolled her eyes when Irma started pouting again.

"You know, it makes sense to me that Corny would rather spend her time with a flower than with us!" she finally blurted out.

Hay Lin gaped at her. She couldn't believe Irma was saying that, again.

"Irma! Those are the kind of things you say that get us in even more trouble! Remember last time?"

Irma was about to protest , but when Taranee placed a threating hand on her shoulder she sighed grumpily.

"I know, but I just wish that she was more like you. You know, with the whole losing people thing "

"Yeah except that I get to see my grandma every now and then!" she exclaimed reasonably with tears streaming down her face at thinking of Yan Lin. Remember, she told herself. She's watching over me in Candracar where I can see her again. Don't go breaking down again.

"Hay Lin, you know I wasn't trying to be mean. It's just that, well you coped with it to do what you knew was important. Cornelia just doesn't seem to care about us anymore."

Hay Lin really didn't want to think that way, so she pasted a smile on her face and tried to change the subject. "Come on!" she said jumping off the pillar she was sitting on. "We came here for magic practice, so lets get to practicing!"

She started to move, but tripped over a large tree branch that had fallen from a nearby tree.

"Whoa!" she yelled as she tumbled over it and landed on her back. Taranee and Irma looked at each other and then started laughing while they walked over to help her.

"Sorry!" Irma giggled while giving her a hand to get up.

"Yeah, right." Hay Lin said, creasing down her skirt grumpily. That of course made them laugh harder.

"Hey, at least you didn't trip the other way! Landing on that pillar would be nasty!" Taranee laughed. Hay Lin looked behind her and gulped. Yikes, that would hurt! Taranee stopped laughing as she looked around the site.

"What?" Hay Lin asked.

"I was just wondering. Where's Will?"

"She said that she was coming ten minutes ago. I thought that she would be here be here by now. Speaking of-"

Will ran in panting and almost tripped on the branch by the pillar.

"Yikes!" she exclaimed as she side stepped the branch. When she saw the girls, she waved nervously and walked to them. "I'm sorry I'm late. I had a couple of problems."

"What kind of problems?" Irma asked while trying to turn on an old water fountain.

"Oh, I was having a talk with my mom." Will explained.

"About moving?" Taranee asked gently.

"Yeah. She's closed the subject! I can't move though!" uncontrolable tears came rolling down and she wiped them away angrily. "No, I can't move!"

Taranee came over and put her arm on Will's shoulder to comfort her. She had a small smile when Taranee spoke softly.

"We'll do something. I don't know what yet, but we'll make sure that it never happens."

Irma called it quits on the fountain when only a little bit of water sprouted out and turned to Will.

"Yeah little-miss-keeper of the Heart!" she joked. "We'll be together forever!"

They all gave her a big reassuring smile that made her feel a lot better. Yeah, Hay Lin thought. We'll work out our problems like real friends do. Even if other real friends didn't have the problem of saving the world from evil!

"Hey, there's another problem. I think my mom is getting suspicious." Will admitted.

"What do you mean! How?" Hay Lin asked eagerly. "We can't let anybody know our secret!"

"I know! Okay, here's what happened."

Flashback

Will was trying to find a way to explain to her mother, but it was hard. She couldn't know where Will was _really_ going.

"Come on Mom! You don't have to go through all this trouble for me. I can walk from here." she pleaded.

"Why? Are you going somewhere you're not supposed to be?" Susan asked with her voice full of sarcasm but also full of suspicion.

Uh oh, Will thought. She's trying to break me down.

"No it's just that-"

"Do you have to do something alone, something that you don't want me to know?"

"Yes, I mean no!"

"Tell me Will! Why are you so persistent that I let you walk to a place that you, for some reason, don't want me to be?"

Will gulped and Susan narrowed her eyes.

"You're hiding something from me."

Oh no! Those words. How did she know! How do mothers always know! I have to get out of here, fast!

"Uh, this is my stop. The coffee shop. Um, see you later Mom!" Will squealed giving a wide, fake grin and running into the shop to hide from her mother who seemed furious that she was so close to hearing the truth. She's just lucky that she didn't hear it.

End of Flashback

"And I waited until she left and I started running over here. It was a really close call."when Will finished, they all had a sigh of relief.

Hay Lin was breathing heavily at Will's story. Would if Susan had found out something! Their whole life would be in chaos, and that's a fact! She couldn't even think clearly with all of the problems on their hands. She just hoped it all wouldn't get worse. Those agents from Interpool are already snooping on us and now Will's mom. Our powers are pretty much gone and Cornelia won't speak with us. If you ask me, I would say things weren't good.

Okay, here's part one. Up comes part two, that I will get up tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review! The next part gets interesting.


	4. A Surprise Guest Part Two

Okay, here's part two. From here on the real story begins. I'll be gone for about five days though on a trip, so just enjoy this and I'll post chapter four when I get back. Hey, it would be nice to get some reviews though! Lol!

Chapter 3: A Surprise Guest( Part Two) Still Hay Lin's POV 

"Wow! Imagine if she had actually found out." Taranee breathed, rubbing her neck.

"Yeah, there's a show stopper!" Irma exclaimed dramatically. She walked over to the old fountain again and put her hand on her hip and sighed knowingly.

"Well, since our powers are on the low down, don't you think we should use the old Heart of Candracar to boost us up a little bit? We still need to practice you know."

"You don't need to tell me twice! Heart of Candracar!" Will threw her head back and thrust her palm out for the Heart of Candracar to send shimmery teardrops to her friends. Before they knew it, their transformations were complete, with their regular clothes being replaced with stripped leggings, midriff-bearing tops, skirts, and best of all flowery wings. Hay Lin loved her Guardian form and just couldn't help taking off in flight feeling a rush of fresh air as she spun around the other Guardians. When she noticed the others looking around for something, she pulled herself to a stop and landed.

"What's up?" she asked when Will shook her head.

"I thought I heard something, but I think all this thinking is getting to my head."

Irma stood with her hands tingling with blue magic and shot at the fountain. It sprang to life with sparkling water shooting up from its sprout and Irma sighed with satisfaction.

"Well, it's not nearly as high as I tried to make it go but hey, at least it's working." Irma shrugged with a mischievious smile.

Taranee took a while to burn a pile of logs that if a couple of weeks ago, would have easily been burnt to a crisp. Hay Lin could tell that she was agitated at that fact, but she still handed the larger fire to Irma with a small grin and a wink. Hay Lin even started to think that everything wasn't too bad. Her powers weren't working well, yes but at least she had her friends. I mean, she thought again, most of my friends. A few seconds later, Will started talking again.

"While we were in the car, my mom had to talk to me about my _priorities._ And Taranee, she uh, kind of wants you to tutor me in math." Will rushed out nervously, scared to really say it slower. Taranee just gave her and understanding smile.

"Okay." She replied.

"Really? Thanks!" Will exclaimed relieved, but then she went back to her Guardian self. "Okay, now it's my turn."

Hay Lin saw Will let out the Heart of Candracar and her entire body was filled with a pink light. Waves of electricity were flying through the air in a spectacle like a firework show. She zapped them back inside of her and leaned against a pillar breathing slowly.

"Doing magic now, takes a lot out of you." She panted wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead.

"Yeah but Will, that was amazing! Your magic lightning bolt things like jolted our energy or something! They were so cool! And-" Irma's fan speech was cut short by an unsuspected cry.

"Will?"

All the Guardians were frozen when they turned around slowly to see Susan Vandom staring at them with her mouth a gape. She opened and closed her mouth several times trying to find the right words for what she was seeing. It felt like she was staring forever until she spoke.

"You're, you're not Will! You can't be. Th- that can't be possible."

Uh oh, Hay Lin thought as she bit her lip. This can't be good.

Hay Lin watched worryingly as Will's mom started to turn white and shaky. She gasped and started to get a little queasy when she saw Susan's eyes tone in on their wings. If anything, that would be the catch that they weren't normal. Susan's eyes went even bigger than before as she jumped back horrified, narrowly missing the long tree branch lying on the floor dangerously.

"What are you!" she screamed. "I came here when I saw my daughter come in but-" she took a breath trying to take all this in. "You," she said pointing at Taranee, Irma, and Will. "You all made water, fire, and some kind of pink lightning come out of your _hands!_ And you _flew_!"

The cat's out of the bag now! Our powers that we have kept hidden so carefully are now in the open, our secret has been discovered! How are we going to fight evil now? Hay Lin noticed that Will wasn't speaking. She would have thought that she would try to comfort her mother. I guess that she doesn't want her mom to know that it is her. To see a magical being and then find out that it is your daughter would surprise you big time, Hay Lin figured. Susan still hadn't had enough though.

"Where's my daughter! You can't really be real!"

Oh, how untrue that is. All of a sudden, Will's shoulders shot up to her ears and she bit her lip nervously. This was too much for Susan who dropped her mouth, and her purse!

"Oh my God!" she whispered. "You are Will." She turned to the rest of the girls looking very sick but thoughtful as she looked carefully at each of them.

"Taranee, Irma, Hay Lin?" she asked softly quivering. Hay Lin slowly nodded her head. Great! We're in for it now in Candracar!

"Will?"

"Mom, it's me." She whispered.

"That's not possible!" she yelled angrily now, not daring to believe any of this. She looked like she was about to faint.

The next events happened so swiftly and so fast that no one saw them coming. Susan stepped back quickly only to fall over the branch and hit her head on the large pillar and slide down into the cement, hard.

"Mom!" Will screamed. They all ran to Susan who lay unconscious on the cement. Taranee felt under her head and screeched.

"She's bleeding! Really bad!"

"We need to change back now!" Hay Lin yelled.

Will brought out the Heart of Candracar and changed them back to their plain, regular selves frantically. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the ambulance. She heard the sirens blaring moments later and there was also another car running up behind it. Will started to cry when she saw blood all around her mother and the workers get bandages to wrap around her head.

"She's losing a lot of blood!" one of them yelled. "We need to get her to the emergency room fast!"

They rushed her onto a stretcher and into the ambulance. They said that one person could go in with her. Will looked back at them with desperation.

"Go on." Hay Lin urged.

Will jumped into the vehicle with her mom and waved a painful goodbye before she closed the doors shut. It was very quiet and lonely with everyone gone. Will missed another scene that made things even worse. The two people who came out of the car trailing the ambulance were none other than Agent Medina and Agent McTiennan. And they weren't here for a road trip.

"Hello again girls." Agent Medina said crossing her arms together suspiciously.

"We have a couple of questions for you. First of all, what happened here?"

Hay Lin gulped and stared up at the agents. First Will's mom and now them! I repeat, this is _definitely not good!_

There's part two of chapter 3. Please review and I'll post when I get back in around five days!


	5. Whispers

1Okay I'm back. Sorry for the wait. Thanks for giving me a review. It really motivates and inspires me when I know if people like my story. I accept any reviews. Here's chapter four

**Chapter Four: Whispers**

Evil Will's POV

A tear. A drop of water that shows emotion, shows sadness, and also fear in the young Guardian who could not escape her tragedy. There were many rolling down the Keeper of the Heart's cheeks as she held tightly to her mothers hand. Pain was reflected in the girl's watery, brown eyes. Regret, guilt. Those were the kind of things that spread joy, whatever little she had, through Evil Will. She would have been jumping up and down with glee, except that those were the kind of stupid things that happy, cheery little girls did. Happy, just wasn't her style.

You could easily understand that by looking at her clothes. Black leggings, a mini-skirt, and a bell-sleeved midriff-bearing top. She screamed evil by looking into her eyes. She had very pale brown eyes with an icy glint to them, making her personality fit perfectly. She didn't like to admit it, but besides the color difference, she looked exactly like that Guardian. Evil Will started to heat up inside thinking of the person who got her shunted aside for fourteen years, that young girl who was riding in an ambulance in the image reflecting in the pool in front of her. All she knew was that those good- Guardian look-alikes were her enemies. Her anger dimmed a little when she thought of her plan though. A plan that had started, and would soon end, with the Guardian leader in front of her. Besides, she thought with a sniff, I'm much prettier.

Evil Will focused again on the Will reflected in the watery image. She watched the girl jump out of the ambulance and look on after at the people hurrying her mother on a stretcher into the emergency room. Will rushed behind them desperately until a strict looking nurse with her hair pulled into a knot at the back of her head stopped her, pointing to the waiting room.

"No children allowed in the emergency room while there is an operation in progress." the nurse stated firmly as she led Will through the door.

"I'm her daughter I need to see if she's alright I have nowhere else to go" Will cried.

"I'm sorry. I can't help you."

The nurse turned on her heels and left Will standing there, obviously pained at what was happening. A little boy, no older than four, suddenly walked over to her and tugged on her arm.

"I'm sorry. Was that your mommy who was bleeding a lot?" he asked softly.

To choked up to reply, Will painfully nodded her head.

"It's okay." he added. "My mommy died too."

A fresh round of sobs came, but she quickly turned them into anger and determination.

"My mom's not going to die!"

Will was aware of every eye in the waiting room following her as she bolted out of the door, but she didn't care. She slammed the door shut behind her and sat on a nearby bench wiping away her tears. She looked like she felt helpless for her mother. Her eyes darted around the deserted hall before she opened her hand, looking straight into the Heart of Candracar.

"I thought I could always count on my powers and my friends, but now, everything is falling apart." Will barely whispered to herself. "I don't know what's going to happen to us. And now with everything happening, it's just too much." The Heart faded back into her body as she slowly cried herself to sleep.

Evil Will had seen enough and walked away from the pathetic scene. She couldn't have ever imagined her plan going even smoother. The Keeper was questioning her faith in her powers! Now all she had to do was make Will feel even more insecure and it would be so easy to cross over, steal the Heart of Candracar, and let evil capture the world! Of course, victory wouldn't be hers alone. She had her friends to share it with, and the one person who would make sure that evil ruled both universes: Phobos. Soon, Phobos would be released and the Guardians would be dead. She just needed to plant the seed and watch it grow.

Turning back to the sleeping girl, she slowly started spinning her finger in the water. White magic blinded her from viewing Will, but she didn't need to see her to know where she was going. Evil Will stepped inside the water and knew that she was standing inside the Guardian's mind, inside her thoughts and dreams. Suddenly, the girl was in clear focuss standing around looking bewildered. She smiled and walked up behind her.

"So, having fun?"

Will snapped herself around to see who was talking to her. She gasped and cringed at the sight of the person who had haunted her last dream. Will had been transformed into her Guardian form, so she felt like she was looking into a darkened mirror. Evil Will even smiled at the satisfaction that she could read Will's thoughts, and that she was scared of her. Good, she smirked. That's exactly what I want.

"You!" Will cried looking around. "Who are you! You're, you're me!"

Evil Will chose to ignore her question. Will didn't need to know anything about her, although she was sure that the Guardian would be told soon. Besides, she hadn't broken into her mind to explain everything. No, it was best to leave her in the dark. She smiled again maliciously, knowing that she had the upper hand here.

"I don't even want to get into all that right now." she replied simply."To make the next few days easier for you and your friends, just give me what I want."

"Yeah right! Like you'll just leave us alone if I do!" Will yelled angrily.

"As you wish , but I want you to take a look over there."

Will looked to where she was pointing near the trees. There stood the other Guardians, all gagged and tied held up by blinding white magic.

"No! Let them go!" Will screamed running toward them. She got bounced back from a clear shield surrounding her friends and landed on her back. Evil Will leaned over her and started laughing. She snapped her fingers and they all fell, dead.

"Give me the Heart of Candracar and you won't have to go through the nightmare that has already started."

Will gritted her teeth and stared into her eyes. Evil Will was smiling now. She knew that this was the part that the girl surrendered at her defeat to rescue her friends. The whole noble thing was _so_ easy to predict. She was really surprised when Will brought out the Heart and blasted her off her feet, sending her flying through the air. She was heading back outside of Will's head.

"As if!" Will screamed right before her dream was closed and Evil Will landed outside the pool of water. Will woke up quickly and out of breath as she looked at the Heart that was still out. Evil Will got up frustrated and stuck her finger in the image again. This time though since Will was awake, only her voice was sufficient to get to the girl.

"Thought you could get rid of me?"

Will yelped, clawing at her head waiting, hoping for the voices to stop. Nothing was going to stop Evil Will to get her point through.

"I gave you your only chance, but since you refused, now you will be forced to give me the Heart!"

Will started to feel dizzy and she fell to the floor.

"Evil will come! Now you will have to suffer!"

A woman screamed for a doctor when she fell beside Will, trying to pick her up. Will was not breathing.

"Think of your friends, your mother, your boyfriend! And remember that I have your powers!"

Nurses came running and were trying to keep her awake long enough to give her oxygen before she fainted. Will saw many faces above her when she finally blacked out at hearing the last few words.

"You can't escape!"

Evil Will watched Will faint and she sighed. She had made her point clear, the plan was working. All she needed was for a few more things to fall in place and then evil would rule everyone, including Candracar! She was going to get the Heart of Candracar! After releasing the Dream catcher, all she had to do was make sure they suffered until she got what she wanted. All the Guardians will die, Evil Will laughed. We will take them all out, ONE BY ONE!

I couldn't really think of another name for the evil Will so I'm sorry if it sounds stupid. It might be a little confusing about the whole evil Will thing, but everything is going to be explained in chapter 9. I can promise at least 16 chapters for this story, but I will most likely write more. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and chapter 5 will be up soon. Remember, please review!


	6. Snoops

1Chapter five was up pretty quick Well, quicker than usual. Here it is

**Chapter 5: Snoops**

Irma's POV

Irma kept running and didn't dare stop in case they would catch up to her. In any way, she could never truly escape those Interpol agents for they were always at her house, when they weren't camped out at Elyon's that is. Her breath was quickly leaving her, not being really athletic and all and she turned quickly behind some bushes to breathe. She peeked through the branches, but the street she was on looked completely deserted. Irma sighed and sat down in the grass.

Escaping those agents wasn't easy, she thought rubbing her head. But it sure was funny to see the looks on their faces when we bolted I'm sooo in for it now though at home. They would be really happy to tell my father everything mysterious that we had done, though most of the mystery, they had no clue to what was going on. She peeked out from behind the bush again, the street was still deserted, besides a squirrel climbing up a tree. She pulled herself up, slipped her hands in her pockets, and slowly started walking.

Why can't they leave us alone, she thought grumpily kicking a stone down the sidewalk. They're the biggest snoops I've ever seen, well, besides me. After Will's mom got hurt, they just came strolling by demanding questions. I think I showed them, Irma smirked. A little water did the trick All Irma had to do was twirl her finger behind her back and on came the sprinklers They only stayed on for a few seconds, just long enough for them to start acting all girly. 'I'm wet We need to go home and dry off' then they all started running way before the agents could get the water out of their eyes. Yeah, it was a short and quick get away, although Irma knew she was the only one who couldn't get away.

Irma lifted her head suddenly, looking up at a large wrought-iron fence in front of a penthouse apartment. She was in front of Cornelia's building Wow How'd I get here, she questioned looking at her feet again. Hmm, since my feet seem to be moving for me, I might as well get that talk with Corny over with. She walked over to the fence and buzzed the intercom.

"Hello is Cornelia there because I really want to apoligize." Irma bit her lip at her lie. She knew it might be the only way that Cornelia would listen to her. Admitting that she was wrong, Cornelia would have to listen to that. Well, Irma hoped so.

"Um yeah, she's here. And she would love to hear your apology." Mrs. Hale said sharply. Irma knew that she was also speaking to Cornelia pointedly.

The gate swung open and Irma walked cautiously through it. She thought hard about what she would say to Cornelia as she walked through the lobby and into the elevator. Almost every word that Irma said upset her. She would definitely not mention Caleb or her nickname that Irma loved to say to annoy her. The elevator opened and she gasped with surprise when she saw Cornelia standing there in front of her, her arms folded smugly.

"Well," she said edgedly. "I'm waiting."

Irma gulped. Maybe she should give an apology. It would make things a little bit better. Well, she sighed. Here it goes.

"Um, I'm sorry about what I said a couple of weeks ago. I know you are really sad right now, but we just wanted to help." Irma said as honestly as she could. It took real guts to say what she forced out of her mouth after. "I-I was wrong."

Cornelia was really taken aback. Her eyes went wide with surprise, but then she lowered them again, lost in thought. Irma looked at her hopefully. When Cornelia didn't say anything, Irma decided to tell her the big news.

"Corny." Irma said. Oops! I accidentally said it, she thought getting scared. She waited for Cornelia to blow her head off and yell at her before storming to her room, but instead, she didn't move. What's up with her, Irma wondered.

"Well, here it is. We really need your help now. I don't know if you noticed but our powers are fading and-" a loud screech cut her off and Cornelia whipped around when she heard glass shattering.

"Oh no! Caleb!" she screamed as she stormed into her apartment yelling back at Irma.

"If anything happens to him I'll blame you Irma! Go away and don't come back!"

"Cornelia!" Irma cried, but she was already gone. Irma ran into the apartment to Cornelia's room to see her screaming at a cat, cupping the flower in her hands. She then turned back to Irma angrily.

"Because you came here, I left Caleb unprotected and look what could have happened!" she cried pointing at the broken shards of glass on the floor.

"Corny, that's not fair!"

"Go! Now!"

Irma found herself hurrying away from the building and running to her own house. She was so close! If only they hadn't been interrupted! Everything might have worked out. She opened the door to her house and closed it shut behind her starting toward her room. Something stopped her in her tracks though. The very people who she dreaded seeing at her house. Agent Medina and Agent McTiennan were sitting on her couch looking very happy but very suspicious indeed. It turned out that they hadn't tracked her down about the earlier events of that day.

"Irma, we have some good news." Agent Medina said looking at the young girl at her right. Irma followed her gaze and saw a girl with long straw-colored braids and a heart shaped face with a pointed chin.

"Elyon!"

There's chapter 5 for you.


	7. The Fire Within

Chapter 6 came out the next day! I think I'm getting the hang of this. If anyone out there knows, I was wondering if you could buy the comics in English besides on ebay. If you know, can you please mail it to me? Thanks!

Chapter 6: The Fire Within 

Taranee's POV

Taranee was fuming as she slumped herself on top of her bed. My mother, she thought angrily, is so insensitive! Just because Nigel used to be in Uriah's gang, she doesn't want me near him! He's completely changed though! He's nice and sweet…

She zoomed off in her thoughts. Thinking of her brown-haired crush always made her blush and sit dreamily. But when the phone rang shrilly, his beautiful face was washed away. Taranee walked over to the phone and picked it up.

"Hello?" she said dully holding the receiver to her ear.

"Taranee! Please I really need to talk to you!" came Will's panicked voice.

"Where are you? Did you just visit your mom?" Taranee asked, completely forgetting the whole drama with her own mom.

"Well, actually no. I was rushed into the emergency room before I could see her."

"What! What happened?"

"It's too hard to explain on the phone. I tried calling the others but they were all busy. Can you meet me at the park in fifteen?"

"Yeah, sure. Just let me get ready." Taranee replied and she set down the phone looking for her shoes. The phone rang again and Taranee groaned as she ran back over to the pick it up.

"What!" she said more rudely than she should have. She really wanted to get to Will. This sounded urgent!

"It's Irma! Listen we've got an emergency!"

"Yeah, we already have an emergency."

"What is it?" Irma asked eagerly.

"Something is wrong with Will. I'm sorry but I've got to go. Can you get Hay Lin to go over there and then you'll fill us in later?"

"But-"

Taranee wasn't aware that Irma wasn't finished, but she decided that what she needed could wait a few minutes. Right now, Will needed her, and right now she needed to find her shoes! She looked under her bed where they accidentally got pushed back and slipped them on before heading out the door.

"I'm meeting Will at the park, okay!" she hollered over her shoulder to everyone in the house and ran to her bike and started pedaling. Images started flooding her mind. Will's mom getting hurt, an ambulance, the Interpol agents, Cornelia crying over Caleb, and her and Irma trying to use their powers. She started pedaling faster thinking of their powers fading. It was just a couple of weeks ago when they were battling Phobos and Cedric with all the rebels. They were a great team at the fullest of their powers! That's how they returned Elyon to her rightful throne in Meridian and locked Phobos and Cedric in the Tower of Mists. But now that their mission was over, Cornelia became really sad over Caleb's transformation and won't come out of her room. Since then, all they did was argue and their friendship was starting to rip apart.

Taranee pulled up to a park bench and started looking around. She couldn't see Will. Well, she thought looking at her watch. I did come pretty early. Maybe she isn't ready yet. Her eyes caught up to a girl with red hair sitting by a tree. It has to be Will, she thought and she walked up to her and smiled.

"Want to talk now?" Taranee asked. Will looked up to her and grinned, getting up to walk along with her.

In a few moments, Will was telling Taranee everything about her dreams that she had been having as they walked together on the sidewalk. She told her about the Evil Will and how she kept trying to get the Heart of Candracar and about her trip to the emergency room after she fainted from dizziness and terror. Will was pouring her heart out on everything as Taranee listened quietly. They managed to get to the top of a hill while talking, and now out of breath they sat down on the grassy area.

"Wow." Taranee whispered looking at her hands. All that Will had just told her was just now sinking in. "What do you mean there was like an evil version of you?" she asked suddenly.

"She looked exactly like me as a Guardian except she wore all black and she was pale with these scary looking eyes. She kept saying that she was going to kill you guys if I didn't give her the Heart of Candracar. She said that we're going to have to suffer through something." They paused again and looked up at the sky. It was about time for the sun to go down. They needed to cut their conversation soon to go home.

"Well, how do you know that she was actually real? I mean, it could have really been a dream." Taranee replied. Will stared at her straight in her eyes before answering.

"I know she was real. I don't know how that's possible. She can't be another Astral Drop gone wrong. But it's just a feeling. It's hard to deal with all this along with knowing that my mom could…" Will faded off and stared at the ground. Taranee got up and gave her a big, comforting hug.

"Nothing will happen to her."

Will wiped her eyes and sniffed. "I hope you're right. I'm just so scared."

"I know. Me too. But it's really about everything. Your mom and your possibility of moving. Most of all though, I don't know what's happening to us. We're losing our powers because of our friendship, Will. If what you were saying really is true, then we are very vulnerable right now."

"Yeah, I know. First, we have to help Cornelia somehow get over her heartbreak. Then, I don't know what we should do after that. Maybe talk to the Oracle about my dreams?" Will wondered.

"Actually, first we have another emergency. Irma called earlier, but I'm not exactly sure what she wanted. I think we should start heading over there." Taranee replied getting to her feet. She helped Will up and before they headed toward their bikes, they stood there and watched the sun sink lower and lower in the purple tinted sky.

"Isn't it beautiful. Wide and fiery, bringing light to the world." Taranee sighed. For some reason, she couldn't help thinking of the sun as a symbol of her life. When her fire power was strong, her and her friends brought light to the world and good overpowered evil. But now as her power was fading, what would happen when it kept sinking and sinking until finally, it would be engulfed in darkness.

She looked into her best friend's eyes and just couldn't help not smiling. It seemed like it was wrong to smile with all the things going wrong. Their powers were going, Cornelia had shut herself into her room, the Interpol agents, Will's mom…, it was all just overwhelming! She did smile though as she felt herself heating up inside with warmth.

"Something _must _be done." She whispered determinedly.

Taranee took to heart that one peaceful moment. She had Will right now all the way through this, and she knew that soon all of the girls would be together again.

"Yeah, nothing else bad could happen." She sighed happily as the sun sank beneath the horizon. "At least." She thought again slightly frowning. "Not right now."

I'm done with this chapter and I'll get up Chapter 7 tomorrow. I could use a couple reviews to tell me how I'm doing if anybody just doesn't mind writing something. Also again if anybody knows where you can get those comic books, post the answer to me please!  Uggh! Now I have to go clean my room! Somebody help me please! 


	8. The Advancing Mist

I finished writing this a little while ago, but I couldn't post it because we've been shopping the past couple hours. I swear we have enough food to last through winter! Chapter 7 is here!

Chapter 7: The Advancing Mist Cornelia's POV 

Birds were singing, the sun was high up in the sky, shining on this new day. Cornelia shifted her position at her window so that her head lay on her propped up arms. She sighed when she saw all the kids down on the sidewalk skateboarding and sitting on benches licking ice cream. Like they have no problems, she sniffed.

Cornelia longed to be down there with them though. She missed school and acting like a teenager. She missed being a Guardian of the Veil with her friends. She knew that they were trying to help, but sometimes, they only made it worse. Especially Irma. She just doesn't know how to control the words that come out of her mouth. But she did come to apologize…

Suddenly, she jumped up and walked over to the phone. After pondering her action for a few minutes, she slowly placed the phone on the hook. Maybe it was finally time to reconnect with the world. Her friends really did seem to care about her. There was only one problem: Caleb.

What would happen if I left and he died without my care and protection, she wondered, gently stroking the pedals of her love. Tears welled up in her eyes when she thought back to that fateful day when Phobos had turned him back into the flower that he started as, the flower that she had guarded and cared for ever since they got back from saving Meridian. She wiped her tears away angrily and stomped her foot.

"No. I have to bring him back, and I'm going to find the one person who can help me." Cornelia grabbed her pink shawl and was about to walk out the door when she stopped and looked back at the flower she was leaving behind.

"Hmm. I can't leave you alone." She said to Caleb. "Maybe if I made like a force field around Caleb. He would be protected then." Cornelia walked back to him and closed her eyes to concentrate. She opened them when she felt it was done, but she just saw the flower and nothing else.

"Huh?" she exclaimed confused. "Why didn't that work?" Cornelia squinted her eyes, again feeling power surge through her. She opened her eyes and gasped with surprise and rage.

"What's happening! What's wrong with my powers!" she spun around and opened her door when she suddenly heard Lillian screaming.

"Mommy! What is that stuff!" she yelled as she ran into her mother's arms at the far side of the living room.

"I don't know!" she replied, plainly terrified at the gold, glittering mist substance that was filling the living room. It was swooping in and covering everything. Cornelia stared in horror when it swept over Lillian and her mother making them fall down on the floor asleep. That stuff seems to make everything stop working, she noticed as she saw the clock in the hallway. She didn't have a lot of time to think though because the mist was approaching up the stairs fast! Everything was in slow motion when she started running back to her room. She glanced back at Napoleon trying to run up the stairs, away from the advancing mist. It past over him and he fell asleep before he could take his next step.

"No!" Cornelia screamed, shutting the door behind her. The mist was coming through the crack under the door and it was making it hard to move. The phone started to ring and Cornelia desperately tried to reach it. She fought the mist with trouble because it wouldn't let go of her legs. It reminded her of last time, when the Seal of Phobos made inky black stuff go all over her room and trapped the girls. But then, she had Will and the Heart of Candracar to get her out of trouble. There was no one here to stop the gold mist that was up to her knees now and spreading around the rest of her room. She reached with great strength and grabbed the phone. Hay Lin's voice instantly came out of it.

"Cornelia! You won't guess who's here! Hey, what's wrong?" Hay Lin had just heard her desperate attempts to break free. The mist was swimming up the rest of her body and Hay Lin's voice seemed to get slower. Cornelia screamed the only sensible thing before the mist encircled her and she fell into her unconscious dreams.

"Help!"

I know that this was a very short chapter, but if I added what I was going to have, it would have been_ way_ too long. Everything now is being moved a chapter back so the whole evil Guardians thing will be explained in the 10th Chapter. You'll see more of them soon. That chapter will be the hardest because I need to work out everything without making it confusing. Thanks for reading and please review if it's not too much trouble. I don't seem to be getting too many.


	9. Mirror Image Part One

This was really what the last chapter was going to be called. I thought about it for a while and decided that this was better. I'm sorry it's taken so long, but I've been busy.Read on!

Chapter 8: Mirror Image Part One 

Elyon's POV

There was an eerie silence as Elyon stared at her hands and pondered her problem. She felt like a prisoner who was trapped between the man and woman on either side of her. She had no clue that agents would be lurking around trying to find her when and if she came back to Heatherfield. Her eyes moved up toward them but her head stayed down. They looked very suspicious and were, no doubt, going to start asking questions soon. Somehow, she had to get to Hay Lin and Irma and the rest of the girls. But I know that these guys won't let me go so easily, she thought looking up hopefully at Irma and Hay Lin on the other couch.

They both seemed to realize the desperation in Elyon's eyes. Their looks of surprise when they had seen her earlier were gone and were now replaced with looks of worry and wonder. Elyon knew that they were trying to find a way out of this. She surely hoped so because there was too much on her mind already and she couldn't think of anything. Suddenly, Hay Lin jumped up and everyone started staring at her.

"Um, I'm going to try calling the others again." She chirped before she flew quickly from the room. (Almost literally)

"That's a good idea." Piped Agent Medina as she clasped her hands. Once they all get here, we can start talking about where Elyon has been and why she has been gone so long."

Elyon quickly moved her eyes downward when she felt Agent Medina's gaze on her. She instead tried to focus on what Hay Lin was saying in the other room.

"Ughh! Why isn't anybody answering! I'll just try Will's cell." Elyon started looking up at the ceiling and listened closer.

"Oh, hi Will! It's about time I got a hold of somebody. … Taranee's there with you then. … Really! Here I'll go open the door." She could just hear Hay Lin running to the door and opening it for Will and Taranee who made a loud racket with their bikes.

"Please tell Irma I'm sorry Hay Lin." Taranee said walking through the door. "I just had to go see Will. We'll talk about it later, but anyway, what was the big-"

When the girls walked in, Taranee stopped talking and their mouths dropped. Elyon smiled sheepishly and did a slight wave with her hand.

"Elyon!" Will explained taking in the situation. "What are you doing here?"

"That's what we'd like to know." Agent McTiennan said getting serious. "Elyon, why did you leave Heatherfield and why were you gone so long?"

Elyon just kept a blank face and stared right back at him. He started again.

"Well, Sergeant Lair should be here any time now." He said checking his watch. "He called to say that he would be a little late because of some trouble at the office. You can wait until he gets here if you have anything to hide."

Elyon gulped. He had her. She knew that her friends didn't want anybody to know their secret. Would if something slipped when he cornered her. Otherwise, if she didn't start talking, they would definitely know that something was up. She really wished that she could talk to her friends because she really had no clue to what to say. Come on, she yelled to herself. Give me an idea, any idea!

"Act dumb. Say that you don't remember."

Elyon's head snapped in the direction of Taranee who was bent over with her fingers to her temples. She knew instantly that Taranee was contacting her mentally, as she had done in Phobos's castle. Agent Medina looked at Taranee when Elyon had.

"Are you alright dear?" she questioned looking a little worried.

"Oh, she uh, has had a really bad headache for the past couple of days. It goes on for a couple of minutes." Will lied very convincingly.

"Say that somebody knocked you and your parents out or something." Taranee's voice again said in her mind.

"Okay." Elyon replied in her head. "I got it."

Taranee pulled her fingers from her forehead and wiped away some sweat. "Boy those headaches have been hurting. Does anyone know where I can get some medicine?" she asked politely.

"Here, lets go get you some." Irma said grabbing Taranee by the arm and leading her into the kitchen. They were most likely in there trying to figure something out. The door banged open right as they left and Mr. Lair came in with a smile.

"Oh Elyon! It's so good to see you again! We just need to ask you a couple of questions about why you were gone."

"Um," she said while thinking back to what Taranee said. "This may sound weird, but I don't really remember."

"What do you mean?"

"I just remember that it was the day after the Halloween dance, and something really hard hit my head. That's all I really remember until I, uh, woke up and started going back to my house where you found me." She replied scratching her head. She was even surprised at how good a story that was. Elyon just hoped that they all would buy it.

"So…" Mr. Lair mumbled. "You don't remember anything else. You don't know why you were gone or for how long?"

"No." she replied firmly.

"But maybe you were kidnapped!" Agent Medina exclaimed excitedly.

Visions of Cedric leading her away to Meridian with lie and deceit filled her mind.

"That's a possibility." Elyon replied coldly. The agents were too excited to pay attention to her tone.

"Yes, that could have happened! I wonder if her parents were taken as well."

"We're going to have to look in to this more!"

"Well, I think Elyon is tired and you have your answer so can we go?" Will asked quickly.

Agent Medina calmed down a bit. She cleared her throat and Elyon knew that there was something else on her mind.

"Hay Lin could you call Cornelia and get her down here before Elyon can go for today. We need to know that she understands what has happened."

Hay Lin shrugged and walked into the other room to dial Cornelia's number. Agent Medina turned back to talk to Will, to Elyon's surprise.

"I meant to ask you. What happened to your mom? Is she okay?" Elyon stared at Will as she started trembling. What had happened to Will's mom?

"I don't know if she's okay. But we really have to go, because we were all going to go to the hospital, and we were hoping that Elyon would come too."

Agent Medina was about to protest when Will streamed across the room and grabbed Elyon's arm.

"I don't think that Cornelia is coming." She added when they walked back outside on the porch. Soon, Taranee and Irma opened the door to see them. Elyon smiled gratefully.

"Thanks you guys."

"Hey, no problem." Irma said grinning. "But what are you really doing here."

Elyon looked down at the floor and took a deep breath. She had to tell the Guardians about her suspicions about what was happening in Meridian. She had to tell them the real reason why she came back to Heatherfield for help. Hay Lin's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Cornelia! You won't guess who's here! Hey, what's wrong?"

A loud shriek burst from the phone and Hay Lin held it away from her ear. The girls all knew that it was Cornelia's voice.

"Help!"

"Cornelia? Cornelia!" Hay Lin shouted before the phone went dead. She slowly removed it from her ear and placed it on the charger. She walked over to all the girls who were all holding their breath. Hay Lin's voice was shaky and her face was pale white.

"Guys," she stuttered. "Something's wrong with Cornelia."

Gosh! It was too long again! Part two is up next because I decided to post them at the same time because it took so long for this chapter.


	10. Mirror Image Part Two

Part two!

Chapter 8: Mirror Image Part Two 

Still Elyon's POV

They stopped to take a breath from running. Everyone was tired but Elyon was determined to keep going.

"Come on, something bad has happened to her! I can feel it!"

Will got up with her hand on her chest, breathing steadily.

"I can feel it too but we have to stop for a few seconds. We can't keep going on like this. Look at Irma."

Elyon glanced at Irma lying on the grass breathing heavily. She put her hand on her forehead dramatically.

"Go, on. I can't make it." She huffed.

"Irma! Come on you're being overly dramatic!" Taranee sniffed as she bent down to help her up.

"Anyway," Hay Lin started. "You never told us why you are here." Everyone stopped and stared at her as she started her explanation. She sighed again. It was time to tell them what was bothering her.

"Well, things are changing in Meridian. The skies are turning darker and everything else is starting to lose its color."

"How could that happen?" Irma questioned. "You bring light to your world."

"I wish I knew." Elyon said quietly. "The people are coming to me. They don't understand either. I can feel a darkness trying to come in, like something bad. But I don't know what it is. It reminds me of when-"

"Phobos ruled." Will finished, pulling out the Heart of Candracar. "He can't have gotten out though. I would know, and you would know too, Elyon."

"So you came to ask our help to figure out what this darkness is." Hay Lin stated with her hands on her hips. "So lets go to Candracar and find a way to get to Meridian."

"But first, we have to see if Cornelia is alright." Elyon confirmed. The other girls got up and started running with her until they reached the gate in front of Cornelia's building.

"Here we are," Irma breathed. "I don't think I should go in there though."

"Why not." Hay Lin said irritably.

"Well, she kind of said for me to go away and not come back."

"Irma! What did you say this time!" Will yelled throwing her hands up in the air. Irma started to get defensive.

"Well actually, I went to apologize. She yelled at me because I was talking to her the exact moment that her cat attacked Caleb. Don't yell at me while she's the one on an emotional roll coaster."

Elyon stared quietly from each of the girls wondering. They had angry faces and seemed to get irritated very easily with each other. They didn't seem like they used to.

"Um, is everything okay?" she questioned looking at all of them in front of her. "Is there something that I've missed while being in Meridian?"

"Well, ever since we got back from Meridian, Corny has been locked in her room . All she does is take care of Caleb and yell at us anytime we go and try to help." Irma sniffed.

"And," Taranee added. "Since we're all arguing, our powers are weakening."

"What!" Elyon yelped jumping back. "And is this all because of the way Cornelia has been acting?"

Each of them looked at each other awkwardly.

"Well, we don't know if it is exactly all her fault but she is at war with us so I guess you could say that." Hay Lin stated.

"Great! Is there anything else I missed?" asked Elyon.

Taranee glanced at Will, wondering if she wanted to talk. Will looked down at her feet and spoke very quickly and quietly.

"My mom is in the hospital."

"What happened?"

Will just shook her head and walked over to speak into the intercom.

"Not right now. We need to get to Cornelia."

Remembering her friend, Elyon walked beside Will who was giving the intercom a second glance.

"From what Irma said, I don't really think that Cornelia would want to see me or her." She stepped back for Elyon to go through. "I was the one who gave her the cat." Elyon spoke into the box loudly.

"Cornelia, it's me, Elyon."

"Elyon!" came Cornelia's voice. "Come right up!"

Elyon had a rush of relief that she was alright. She shrugged and turned to the others.

"Here I'll go alone and see if I can change her mind." She said walking through the gate. "You guys stay here."

Elyon walked to the elevator and started going up to Cornelia's floor. She heard a ding and walked into the apartment. It had been so long since she had just walked into her best friend's house. She eased herself slowly through the living room. Cornelia's mom and little sister were sleeping together on the couch. Oh, she thought. That's so cute. I never realized how much I missed being here. She walked up the stairs. A cat was snuggled up on a rug. So that's the cat that Will got her, she thought before she pushed open Cornelia's door.

Cornelia ran up to her and hugged her really tight. Not until Elyon said that she couldn't breathe did she let go.

"Cornelia, I came to see if you were alright. We heard you scream through the phone. I thought something was wrong." Elyon squeaked as they sat on her bed. Cornelia just sat there pondering and looked up at the ceiling.

"I don't know what that was about. I just woke up from sleeping. I had a horrible dream."

"Really? What was it."

"Why would you like to know?" Cornelia snapped.

"I just-"

"You know what!" she exploded jumping to her feet. "Why are all of you doing this to me! I just want to be left alone!"

Elyon jumped to her feet also, out of anger and surprise.

"What's wrong with you! I understand what your going through, but why are you treating your friends like this!" she paused and stared her straight in the face. "Why are you treating me like this?"

Cornelia huffed and turned her back. "I am angry at everyone right now and I don't want to be a Guardian of the Veil anymore. That's what lost me Caleb. I'm glad you came and all, but why don't you go back to Meridian with your people."

Elyon couldn't believe what she was hearing she was starting to get angry at how she was treating her. But most of all, hurt.

"Cornelia, there's something wrong in Metamoor. The skies… everything is turning dark and helpless, like when Phobos ruled."

"That's very interesting. So you and the others are hoping that I will pretend that everything is good and dandy and become a Guardian again so I can help you." Cornelia said coldly. "Well, I've got enough problems right now so just leave."

Elyon was pushed out of the house and into the elevator. Her tears were streaming down her cheeks. How could Cornelia be like that, she wondered when she stepped out of the elevator to head to the other girls. That wasn't like her.

Somewhere above her, someone snickered.

"You're right Elyon, but she's not your friend at all." The girl that Elyon thought was Cornelia had started changing. She got older and taller. Her blonde hair flowed down her back and she felt her long black skirt fall around her legs covered with black leggings and knee high black boots. Her face was pale and her eyes were a cold blue, very sharp and angry. As she finished, four other girls in black appeared in front of her.

"So?" the one with glossy black pigtails asked.

"I got Elyon discouraged in her best friend, aka my look alike." The Evil Cornelia replied. "She will probably go back to Meridian right away. I also have the girl in the closet."

They all walked over to the other side of the room and opened the closet door. Inside lay Cornelia, all tied up and fast asleep. The one with the tendrils threw her over her back with questioning eyes.

"Oh, I made a gold mist put the whole house to sleep with my new powers." Evil Cornelia explained simply. Their leader stepped up and grinned with satisfaction.

"Now, there is one more thing that we need to accomplish before we truly get started." Evil Will exclaimed. They all disappeared in a thick white smoke.

Elyon walked over to the Guardians with no clue to what was happening above. She wiped her last tear before standing with them again.

"So what happened?" Hay Lin asked Elyon with enthusiasm.

"She, uh, doesn't really want to be a Guardian anymore."

"What!" Will yelled turning pale. She sat down on the grass with her hand on her chest.

Elyon decided to continue. "She didn't seem to be herself. Cornelia's not like that."

"Yeah but you haven't seen her lately." Irma angrily said. "That's exactly the kind of thing she would do."

Elyon shook her head. She couldn't, she wouldn't believe that was her best friend. Elyon looked over at Will who was trembling in the grass. Elyon bit her lip with concern. I wonder if she's okay, she thought.

Suddenly, Will screamed and Elyon gasped. Whatever was going through Will was going through her too. It was a searing pain, a jolt of electricity that was sending them a message. It urged on until it made their heads numb. When the pain passed, Elyon realized that they were both lying on the ground. Taranee helped Will up and Hay Lin reached for Elyon.

"What happened you guys?" Irma asked with worry. Elyon looked at Will hopefully. She didn't want to know that it was true. Will took a deep breath and confirmed her fear with a nod of her head. She spoke shakily but defiantly.

"You guys, Phobos is back."

That was a long chapter I know. I have two chapters that I'm going to try to write on paper today( I have to write out the confusing parts) and I'll hopefully type and post either one or both tomorrow. Thanks for reading and I would appreciate a review!


	11. Darkening Skies

Okay, Phobos is back. It is starting to head into the next plot.

**Chapter 9: Darkening Skies**

Evil Taranee's POV

Screams filled the air as buildings started burning. Smoke was clouding everyone. There was terror and confusement as Metamoorians started running in every direction, looking for their children and trying to escape the painful truth. The grass was no longer green, the sky was swirling with black clouds, and lighting struck everywhere dangerously. There was no more color anywhere, especially with the people of Metamoor, and there was no more hope. Phobos was back. 

"Help! Princess Elyon!" thousands of them cried. But Elyon was not there. She was still in Heatherfield with the Guardians of the Veil. By now she would have figured out that her people were in danger. She would be coming soon, right into a trap.

The Evil Guardians all turned away from the window and approached their master. He smiled gleefully from his throne.

"So, it is true. You come from an alternate universe and freed me so that I could rule Meridian again. Why?"

Evil Taranee stepped up and spoke.

"Our small universe is the only one ruled by evil. Elyon is evil there too, but that universe is a wasteland, a dump for all the excess magic used here in this one. It angered us that evil ruled the weaker of the two universes, so we came to change that!"

"We have gained new powers, powers that we have never had before. We were powerful enough to break free of our universe and come here. We already had a plan for evil to rule Metamoor and Earth. But we need the Heart of Candracar." Evil Will added. Phobos leaned in closer.

"I'm listening."

Back down in Heatherfield, the girls were responding to this news with absolute panic.

"What do you mean Phobos is back!" Irma exclaimed. "How could that have happened?"

Elyon shook her head. If her brother really was back, then Meridian was in danger.

"I've got to go. Meridian needs me. I can feel their cries of pain and fear." Elyon told them.

"But you can't go alone. We've got to go and help." Hay Lin explained. They all looked at Will, ready to transform, but she was still in a state of disbelief.

"She told me he would come. Everything she said is starting to come true…"

"What are you talking about Will?" Elyon asked, confused.

"The Evil Will! She told me that evil will come! That we were heading straight into a nightmare because I didn't give her the Heart of Candracar!"

Irma and Hay Lin looked at each other with their eyebrows raised.

"Um, I think Will fell down too hard." Irma joked. Taranee just walked over to Will and looked into her eyes.

"Are you sure? That's what she said in your dream." Will nodded and brought out the Heart.

"Come on! Now we definitely have to go!" The Heart of Candracar floated above her hand and started sending different colored teardrops to each of the Guardians. Magic started swirling around their bodies as they went through their transformation into W.i.t.c.h. Although it was really W.i.t.h. They still didn't have Cornelia. They each burst from their bubbles and landed on the ground, tall and beautiful.

"I'm going to go and you follow, just in case." Elyon said before she disappeared in a blast of bright light. Each of the Guardians stood in a circle, ready to start their mission.

"Okay, so let's concentrate really hard on where we want to go and, huh." Will stopped talking when she noticed that they were fading. The last time this had happened, the Oracle had summoned them to Candracar.

"You were saying Will!" Hay Lin exclaimed.

Irma started griping. "Oh no, not again!" The Guardians started shimmering away until they landed in a great temple that resided high in the clouds. They were in Candracar.

Back in Meridian:

Evil Taranee placed her fingers to her temples and concentrated. This was a new power that she got from the Guardian. She could contact people mentally now. Phobos had told her to try to get Elyon to come. She knew it was going to work. She thought of the girl wondering the streets horrified at what she saw. Then she finally made contact.

"Elyon! We're near Phobos's castle! You need to hurry!" she said in Taranee's voice.

"Okay Taranee," Elyon thought. "I'm coming."

Evil Taranee pulled her hands away and walked to the others.

"She's coming." She told them. "Prepare for the trap."

The Evil Guardians ran to the front of the castle. There they anxiously waited for Elyon to come. They all gathered all the energy they could in their hands for when she came walking up. She never did come though and the Evil Guardians stood there confused.

"Looking for me!" Elyon yelled from high above them. She shot at them with her silvery- blue magic and they were blown one- hundred feet back. "I guess you couldn't get me after all." She chuckled.

"Yes, but I can." A voice behind her thundered. Elyon was hit by a powerful blast of magic and was held tightly by the magical ropes that had confined her from moving once before. Phobos pulled her to him effortlessly.

"So little sister. I'm back again. I should tell you that I'm back for a rematch, but I'm going to win this time. This time, your friends will be too preoccupied with their own troubles to help you." He walked her down to his throne where he made a magical force felid to keep her in. Phobos threw her in there and smiled.

"And if you haven't noticed, you have a friend joining you." Elyon looked to her left and saw Cornelia sitting there, bound with the magical ropes and gagged too. Elyon tried to get so many words out to her best friend, but all that came out were muffled sounds. Cornelia nodded her head though with understanding.

Evil Taranee laughed mockingly at their stupid gestures. Didn't they know that this was their end? Once their friends were captured, there was nothing stopping Phobos from getting the Heart of Candracar and ruling the universe. She turned when Phobos began to speak.

"Release the Dream Catcher and unleash it on the Earth Guardian. It will soon find the others."

Evil Taranee watched the girl's look of horror when a great black shadow was released from a chest. It swirled around the room giving everyone a feeling of fear. You could hear its breath, it was a soulless creature looking for prey. It suddenly stopped in front of the bubble and was deciding whom to go for. It swooped in and completely covered Cornelia. Then it went back out and waved right back into the chest. Cornelia was gone from the bubble, but was instead floating in midair with a purple aura around her.

"You see Elyon." Phobos said turning to her. "This is going to happen to all of your friends." He turned back to the Evil Guardians and spoke with great authority.

"The Dream Catcher will confuse them on what is real and what is reality. Let their own fears destroy themselves! Once they are at their greatest point of desperation, use your new powers to destroy them!"

Phobos stood up and roared as lighting flashed across the sky.

"You know what to do before you kill them though. It is a perfect plan! Just make sure that in the end, I will get the Heart of Candracar!"

There's chapter 9. The next one is when everything is explained, but I'm going to take a break and start writing it later. That might be a harder chapter to write but it's not as confusing as it used to be. I was thinking of writing another fanfic that would be a sequel to this one, but a new story all on its own. It would be like a boy version of W.i.t.c.h. called W.a.r.l.o.c.k.(Don't steal the idea, please) anyone, tell me what you think of that and send a review!


	12. A Path to Understanding

1Now, the truth is told.

**Chapter 10: A Path to Understanding**

The Oracle's POV

There stood the five Guardians in the vast, circular room of the Temple of Candracar. They were young, but strong, and the Oracle had much faith in them. That is why he decided to tell them the truth. The truth of everything that was confusing them, and everything that they were going to have to face. He walked up to them gracefully. They were looking widely around the room. They must be still in awe about this place, the Oracle noted, nodding his head. Though they were confused of why they were there. The Oracle decided that it was time to start.

"Welcome again, Guardians."

"Um, what exactly are we doing here?" Will asked. The others nodded with agreement.

"I brought you here." the Oracle began. He bowed his head and closed his eyes calmly. "To tell you something grave. Something has happened that I had not foreseen."

"We know. Phobos is back in Meridian." Hay Lin said.

The Oracle smiled.

"You must have felt it." He said turning to Will. "Along with Queen Elyon. But that is only half of what's wrong."

"Only half! You mean there's more that we have to worry about!" Irma huffed. "How did the big guy escape anyway?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Taranee added.

"It's a confusing story girls, but I trust that you can handle it." The Oracle sighed and began his story.

"I believe that you remember the day that you were told of your powers. That day, you were also told the story of the universe and how the veil was brought up. There is actually more to that story. There is also an alternate image of this universe, like another one that reflects everything here like a mirror." The girls paused for a moment.

"Huh?" Irma said befundled.

"I know it is difficult to understand. Exploring in time and space is a great mystery, but listen closely and understanding will soon overcome you." They were quiet again to let him continue.

"It all started about fourteen years ago. The universe was divided by the veil and Phobos still ruled with great cruelty."

"That big, ugly-"

"Irma!" the Guardian's yelled.

"What?" she asked innocently. "You were thinking it too."

"This alternate universe was created when Elyon was born. There was too much magic in your universe. So much, that it could destroy anyone magical, in the present and in the future. So the alternate universe was created for all the leftover magic to reside there. That way, no one in the real universe would be harmed."

"Whew! There's a break! What would the world be like if -"

"Please Irma! Let him talk!" Hay Lin told her, urging the oracle on. Irma just made a big pout and said what was on her mind anyway.

"If I wasn't here." The Oracle almost chuckled at her comment, but this was too serious of a situation. He had to reach them with the truth.

"This small and weak alternate universe, became just that, an alternate universe of what you live in now."

"Which means?"

"Irma, I think it is the opposite of our universe, like a reflected image off a mirror." Taranee responded. The Oracle smiled at them and nodded his head.

"Yes, you are correct. The alternate universe shows the opposite of what's here in yours. So good in your universe would be-"

"Evil in the other." Will finished with a shiver. "I think I get why you're telling us this." She closed her eyes as in to remember a deep thought. "This has something to do with an evil version of ourselves."

"But how do you-"

"She had it in a dream." Taranee answered Irma again. "Twice."

"So, are you saying that there are girls out in another universe who look just like us but are, _evil?"_

The Oracle bowed his head again and breathed deeply.

"Yes, I'm afraid that it is true. If I would have known what the Evil Guardians were planning in their universe, then I could have stopped them from getting Phobos and returning to Meridian."

"Why would they want to do that! Does anyone else know that he's a crazy, power-hungry, lunatic!" Irma shouted and the Guardians groaned. "Wow, nobody interrupted me that ti-"

"Hello! They are evil! They don't care about that kind of stuff!" Hay Lin pointed out to Irma.

"Grrr!" Irma glared angrily at her through clinched teeth.

"Would you please continue?" Will asked the Oracle as Irma went back into her pout.

"It is easier to think that good rules your universe while evil rules the other. Well, as Elyon rules with good in your universe, so does her alternate self with evil in the other one. That didn't seem to satisfy the other Guardians. Their anger built up because their powers were weak. They seemed to think that they lived in a wasteland because all of the excess magic from the original universe was dumped into theirs. From their point of view, they got weak powers that was the little magic that you Guardians couldn't have. You were stronger while they were weaker. Since they had little magic, they couldn't escape their world that they so desperatly wanted to leave. They wanted to prove that evil could rule something more than a wasteland that had little power. They wanted to escape and free the one person who would help them make sure that evil could rule both worlds."

"Phobos." Will whispered.

"Hey but if their power was so weak, how did they get out and free him?" Taranee asked.

"I think I can answer that." came a reedy and strong voice from across the room. The Oracle watched all the Guardians snap their heads in the voices direction as the person stepped into the light. Yan Lin and Tibor started walking toward them.

"Grandma!" Hay Lin yelled as she ran into her grandmother's arms. All that she was being told was left blank in her mind, that is until her grandma spoke again.

"Now Hay Lin, you must listen because what I'm about to tell you is of great importance. Do you understand?" Hay Lin slowly nodded her head and walked with Yan Lin back to where everyone was standing. Yan Lin, the Oracle said in his mind. Tell them the rest of what they need to know. Yan Lin nodded her head sharply and began.

"I'm sorry to tell you this girls, but you gave them the power to escape and free Phobos from the Tower of Mists."

"What! How did we do that! I'm always getting blamed for something!" Irma started whining again.

"Be quiet!" Will snapped.

"My gosh! Does _anyone _have a sense of humor! I was only joking!"

"No you weren't." Hay Lin said simply. Irma stuck out her lower lip.

"Well you're right then, I am always getting blamed for something."

"That's because you're always doing something wrong!"

"Enough!" Yan Lin said strongly. Their voices calmed down at once.

"This is why Phobos has succeded. You are fighting with each otherand your powers are weakening! You do not work together anymore and by the way you didn't help Cornelia-"

"Hey! Corny is the one who got mad at us so it's not all our fault!" Irma defended.

"Did you know that Cornelia is being held captive this very instant with Elyon by Prince Phobos?" The entire room was really quiet now and the Guardians had pale faces.

"Wh-what?" Hay Lin trembled. "How did he get them?"

"I'm not sure." Yan Lin answered. "But out of both the universes, all the power is split, originally with the real one having the most and the alternate one having very little. But now that your powers are weak-"

"They have more powers than us! That's how they broke free and sent me those dreams!" Will yelled cutting her off.

"What? Oh this is harder to follow than school." Irma griped.

"Don't you get it!" Will spoke urgently now. "The Evil Guardians wanted to get out and release Phobos so that they could prove that evil could rule something more powerful than what they lived in. But they didn't have enough power to do that, until ours got weak because we kept fighting. Now they have most of our powers and released him along with capturing Elyon and Cornelia! And... they are trying to get the Heart of Candracar!"

"Wow! We did so much without realizing all the wrong we caused." Taranee shivered. "Evil has our powers now."

"The question is, how are you going to make it right again?" The Oracle said to them. "Will, if that is indeed their plan, do what must be done."

"But-"

"Now it is even more urgent for you girls to make your powers strong again. Who knows what your alternate forms will do to find a way to defeat you. Trust in each other, and find your powers deep within."

Suddenly, the Guardians found themselves back on earth. Everything that they had been told was rattling inside their heads. Will kept thinking about, what she now knew was an Evil Guardian, had said to her earlier.

("Evil will come and now you will have to suffer.")

"She knew." Will whispered to her friends. She was planning it all along."

"We need to go to Meridian!" Irma smiled, now back to her old self again. "Come on ladies, we have some tails to kick!"

They all nodded and looked at the portal that the Oracle had created for them.

("Think of your friends, your mother, your boyfriend. And remember that I have your powers!")

Will looked back at her friends painfully. What could happen to them, she wondered.

("You can't escape!")

Will took a deep breath and regretfully stepped through the portal.

I'm sorry that was a _really long _chapter. A lot of talk and not a lot of action. The next ones might make up for it though.You need to understand this though to understand the rest of the story. Now you know all about the Evil Guardians and I'll tell you that this was hard to write. I hope I didn't make it too confusing. If you don't understand still, just send me an email or say it in a review. Please review because I want to know that I didn't work that hard for nothing. And P.S.- Thanks Guardiangirl254 for the tail kicking line you suggested, and you get the credit for it.


	13. The Dream Catcher

Here we go. Not as much talk as in the last one. There's just a little more action.

**Chapter 11: The Dream Catcher**

Will's POV****

The Guardians all gasped when they saw the horrible scene before them. People were running and screaming. There was fire and smoke everywhere. Phobos's old soldiers were pursuing a group of villagers who were cowering away from the burning homes.

"Hey! Leave them alone!" Will shouted as she shot a little bit of pink magic into the Guards' eyes.

"Arrggh!" They screamed, dropping their swords and allowing the villagers to escape under their flying arms.

"The Guardians are here!" yelled a blue reptilian mother holding her child.

"We're saved!" cried another.

Irma smiled knowingly.

"Of course you're saved! I'm here! Hay Lin, pick me up and carry me over the city. I have a feeling that a rain shower is just what they need."

Hay Lin waved her arms in the air towards Irma and silvery magical swirls were coming from her fingers. Irma lifted a few feet from the ground, and then she fell flat on her bottom. Hay Lin groaned.

"Hey! Watch it! What was that for?" Irma yelled angrily, rubbing her backside.

"Don't blame her. The Evil Guardians have most of our power, remember." Taranee said stiffly.

Will felt fear overcome her again. Everything that the Oracle had told them matched the dreams that she had been having of Evil Will. So they did have their powers, Evil Will told her herself in her first dream. They used to be weaker than the Guardians, but now the Guardians were weaker than them. And they have Cornelia…

"Well, I guess we have to do it the old fashion way. Irma and Taranee, try to calm down the fire as much as you can. We'll go and help everyone else." Will suddenly said, her leader side starting to take over. But she couldn't shake the feeling that they were being-

"Do you feel like we're being watched?" Hay Lin asked the very question that she had in her head.

"Yeah, but we have to see if everyone's al- Ahhh!"

Will fell down with her hands clasped on her head. Hay Lin got down and tried to pick her up, but Will didn't notice. It was a searing pain mixed with a wave of dizziness. Something very familiar…

("Remember me?")

Will opened her eyes and gasped in Hay Lin's arms. She finally managed to pull Will up and was asking her what was wrong.

"That Evil Will! She, she spoke to me again."

("If you want to save your dumb earth Guardian from an early fate, come alone to Phobos's castle.")

"She's telling me to go alone to the castle if I want to save Cornelia." Will grimaced.

"Well Will, you know it has to be a trap. They want the Heart of Candracar." Hay Lin told her.

"Yeah but what if they do something to her?" Hay Lin bit her lip.

"Okay, let's get the others and save Cornelia." Hay Lin said. They ran over to where Irma and Taranee were beating down the flames.

"Are you guys okay?" Hay Lin asked.

"Yeah, it's hard but these flames are almost out." Taranee yelled with her hands in front of her, forcing the fire down.

"That's good you guys! We have to go save Cornelia!"

"No!" a familiar voice cried. Will recognized it immediately being Evil Will. But this time it wasn't in her head.

"Did you even here what I said Will? What part of go alone did you not understand?"

Before their eyes, five women dressed all in black shimmered into view. They were unmistakingly, um, the Guardians but paler and scarier. Everything about them was so ice cold that it sent shivers to each of the Guardians. Taranee, Irma, and Hay Lin gasped at seeing them, but Will just gazed reproachfully at the lot.

"You!" Will said harshly in a disgusted tone. "What do you want? Oh wait, ha, let me answer that for you." Will brought out the Heart of Candracar in a blinding pink light. Evil Will smiled maliciously and her cold eyes started glittering madly.

"You've made it so easy for us Will." She said. The Evil Guardians suddenly threw a powerful blast of magic that knocked the girls off their feet and sent them flying backwards.

"Aahhh!" Hay Lin screamed. Being the lightest, she hit the large brick wall first.

"Ow! They _are_ powerful!" she cried rubbing her head. She looked up and saw the others flying toward her. "Uh oh." The Guardians all hit against the wall with great force and fell down dazed. Will's vision was barely in focus when she saw Evil Will bearing down on her. Realizing with panic that she still held the Heart of Candracar, she pulled it back inside of her right as Evil Will lunged to grab it.

"You stupid girl. Jut give it to us and you might get Cornelia back in one piece."

Will struggled to get up and soon she could see clearly, although her head was throbbing badly. Hay Lin, Irma, and Taranee followed suit. They weren't afraid of those women anymore.

"So what do you know," Irma started. "You're my evil self. They never said that evil meant uglier." Evil Irma growled and shot a pump of water out of her hands that beat down on Irma. She released it when she saw a warning from Evil Will.

"Well at least I have your power, brat!"

Irma got up angrily spitting out a mouthful of water. For once, she didn't have a comeback. She was that mad.

"Alright, let me at her!" said Irma as she started to run at her evil self. Taranee and Hay Lin held her back. Will turned back to Evil Will.

"Why would you want me to go alone?" she questioned. "Wouldn't Phobos love to capture us all in his castle?"

"I would have thought that obvious, Will. Don't you remember what was in your dream?"

Will gasped and looked back at her friends in horror.

"Yes, if you don't want them to die, give us the Heart. You know we have more power than you. And there's no way to fix it!" Evil Will laughed.

Taranee ran up beside her and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Don't listen to her Will. She's trying to make you play into her hands."

"Be quiet!" Evil Taranee hissed, throwing a fireball at her. Taranee narrowly dodged it and made her own feeble attempt at a fireball that went halfway and then died out. The Evil Guardians laughed and were about to attack them again when suddenly Will screamed.

"No."

They stopped abruptly and stared at her.

"Stop it. You can't do anything. I won't give you the Heart of Candracar." Will told them, sounding more confident than she actually was.

"Yeah you tell them Will!" Irma shouted glaring at them angrily.

"You can't do anything to us." Hay Lin piped joining arms with Irma and Taranee. The Evil Guardians scowled.

"Do you want to bet?" Evil Hay Lin shouted as they started running away in the shadows of the alley.

"Since you wouldn't give us the Heart, your poor Cornelia is going to suffer for your mistake." Evil Cornelia snickered as they turned a corner and disappeared from view.

"Come on!" Will shouted as they tore on after them. They turned the corner but the Evil Guardians were nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd they go?" Taranee asked looking around.

"I don't know, but what's that black shadow thing?" Irma said pointing at what was advancing toward them.

It was coming fast. The girls started hearing voices inside their heads.

("Don't go towards it")

("It killed me")

("Your fears are real")

("It's going to get you")

The girls screamed when the shadow crossed over them. They didn't have their powers. They didn't have each other. All they had was darkness.

Will opened her eyes and gasped. She wiped cold sweat off her forehead as she looked around wildly. She was in the hospital sitting on the same bench that she was on earlier. It appeared that she had fallen asleep on it.

"What happened?" she asked herself, rubbing her head. "Was that all just a dream?" Will looked around again. It had gotten darker outside. Maybe she had just slept.

"That was really weird. It, it was so real." Will whispered. "Just like when the Heart was taken from me." She got up and walked down the hall cautiously in case something would pop around the corner and attack her while she was off guard. Even if it was a dream, it could also be real. In any case it spooked her out. She needed to find someone. The thoughts returned to her with a feeling of sinking in quicksand. All the other things couldn't have been a dream, she thought as she was about to round the first corner. Like my mom…

Will was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she accidentally bumped into a male nurse with sandy blonde hair. He was looking very grim and only jumped when she squealed.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Um, do you know where my mom is? Susan Vandom?"

"Are you Will Vandom?" he asked. Will nodded her head. He took a deep breath.

"Will, your mother is dead."

I know! It's horrible! But trust me when I say that things will get better. Well, after they get worse that is. Don't forget to write a review! Don't worry, I won't leave this one hanging for long. (I can barely stand it!)


	14. The Tears You Cry

Another chapter has come!

**Chapter 12: The Tears You Cry**

Taranee's POV

Taranee opened her eyes and lifted her head off her bed. Where was she? Had she just had a nightmare? She grabbed her glasses and put them on looking around. Taranee couldn't help but to be confused. Her heart was still pounding loudly and she was sweating like she had just run a mile. What happened, she wondered.

She got out of bed and stretched. Every moment of her sleep had seemed so real. If it was real, Taranee couldn't be sure. She felt like it all had happened, but then she woke up. How could it have happened if she was asleep? Now she was more confused than ever. She walked over to her mirror and looked at herself. Her face that looked back at her was tired and pondering.

"Did I just have a dream like Will did?" She asked herself in the mirror. "Or was what Will told me about those Evil Guardians a dream too? Oh how confusing!" Taranee was staring so hard that she yelped when she saw a darkened version of herself flash in the mirror. She looked closer and saw her regular reflection again.

"Okay Taranee, stop being paranoid." She shook her head and her beads clicked together. "I need to call her and the others and find out for sure if it was real." Taranee walked to the phone and was about to dial Will's cell when she heard a lot of noise outside. She gently placed the phone back down and opened the door.

It was crazy outside! It seemed like all the animals in her neighborhood were making noises of depression. People were screaming to owners to quiet their pets and the owners kept trying to calm the animals down. The animals wouldn't quiet down though. They seemed very depressed, and noisy. Why though, Taranee wondered. What could make them behave like this?

She gasped as she realized her answer was running down the street toward her. Will came up the street fast and dogs started howling even louder. When she got close enough, Taranee could see that tears were rolling down her cheeks and her eyes were red and puffy. Will stood in front of her and was trembling, lost for words.

"Taranee." She whispered. Then she burst into sobs and started to fall foreword. Taranee caught her and dragged her over to the couch where she sat her down and came next to her. Will couldn't stop crying. Over her loud sobs, Taranee could still hear all the noises outside. She gently patted Will's back to comfort her distressed friend. Taranee was pained to see her like this. She would be even more pained to hear the answer. Will calmed down a bit but was still looking bad. Taranee went and got some tea and sat down again. She took Will by the shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"Will, what's wrong?" By Will's pained expression, Taranee thought she knew. She wouldn't believe it though, not unless Will said it was true.

She stumbled for her words. "Taranee, oh Taranee she's gone!" Then she tried to cry some more but all that came out was a choking sob noise. There didn't seem to be any tears left to cry.

Taranee's stomach churned. She knew that Susan was the person that Will had been worried about. Will's worst fear had come true. Taranee held her breath. She could barely imagine it! Will's mom was dead. How would she feel if her mom died? Taranee's heart ached for Will. But somehow, she felt that it was-

"My fault!" Will said in a hollow dead sort of voice. "If I wouldn't have transformed…"

"It wasn't you're fault!" Taranee spoke softly. "It was an accident that she found out, you know that." Will kept shaking her head.

"No! It is my fault. If I hadn't seemed so suspicious, if I had been more considerate to how she felt, if I hadn't been a Guardian…" Will stopped there, horrified at what she said. Then she buried her face back into the pillow in her lap. Now Taranee was lost for words. She didn't know how to make the pain go away. She didn't know how to make the guilt go away for Will and for herself. Again, if they hadn't been Guardians… Taranee felt terrible for thinking it too. Will pulled back away from the pillow.

"I don't know what I'm going to do." Her desperation was beyond tears. Taranee did the only thing that she could think of. She pulled Will into a big hug and let her cry. She couldn't help it. She cried too. It was amazing of how a simple hug seemed to lift you away from your troubles and make you feel better. Taranee knew that Will really needed it. They pulled away from the embrace and Will wiped her eyes and sniffed. She got up and walked to the window and just stared as wind ruffled and blew her hair back. She needed a moment alone.

Taranee walked into the kitchen to heat the now cold tea. She had a feeling that they were going to need it. The radio in the kitchen was already playing a song. Taranee just caught the end of 'Breakaway' as she worked on the tea.

_I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly,__  
Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye.  
I gotta take a risk, take a chance,  
Make a change  
And Breakaway.  
Out of the darkness and into the sun,  
But I won't forget the place I come from.  
I gotta take a risk, take a chance,  
Make a change  
And Breakaway…_

This song made her feel worse. It was like the bible with a melody. Always telling the truth. What a perfect song for this situation though. All she wanted to do was breakaway from what was happening. If she felt that way, Taranee knew that Will wanted to fly out the window and get away. How horrible must she feel? She lost her mom…

_Breakaway…_

Taranee sat down the cups on the table and saw Will still standing at the window. She was mouthing out the words to the song.

_Breakaway…_

"Goodbye Mom." She whispered as the wind gently blew through the room. Taranee felt horrible for hearing that and decided to go and call the others. She had some terrible news to spread…

Half an hour later, Irma and Hay Lin came in looking very grim.

"Is she okay?" Irma asked quietly before Taranee shut the door. Will walked back into the room and smiled politely at her friends.

"Thanks." She said softly.

"Oh we're so sorry Will." Hay Lin said. They all went and gave her a hug. They sat back down on the couch. Long minutes of silence went by before anyone spoke.

"You can stay with me Will." Hay Lin suggested. "I don't have anybody with me anyway." She smiled and sighed.

"Thanks Hay Lin." There was more silence as they just sat. Grief was spreading through each of them. The cool night wind was blowing all around them. It made Taranee feel very empty and cold. Tears came down Will's cheeks again and she stood up.

"I'm sorry." She choked. "I just can't do it anymore! It's too much."

"Do what anymore?" Irma asked getting scared. Will took a deep painful breath and closed her eyes.

"Everything." Will cried. "It hurts too much! I can't do it anymore! I can't be a leader, I can't be a Guardian anymore!" And with that, Will walked over to the door and left into the night, leaving the other girls in their very troubled thoughts.

This chapter was more sad. What will happen to Will now that she has left? The next chapter will come in a few days. Until then please review!


	15. Fears Unleashed

Wow! Two reviews in one night!

**Chapter 13: Fears Unleashed**

Cornelia's POV 

Opening her eyes, Cornelia jumped out of her bed and looked wildly on the spot. Her bedroom seemed almost normal. Normal, that is except for Cornelia being wild and jumpy instead of her cool and confident, and lately sulky self.

Okay, she thought, racking her brain for an explanation. Something just happened, I know it! But what? Fragments of memories started playing through her head. She remembered a gold mist and then she remembered darkness. Then… she woke up tied in Phobos's castle before Elyon came in. After that, a black shadow passed over her and she was in darkness again. Now what?

Cornelia was breathing very fast. She was scared of what had happened to her. She was mostly filled with confusion though, and anger. Nothing made her more mad than things not making sense! She sat down on her bed and closed her eyes to think calmly. What had those people said? She knew there was Phobos, but how did he get out! And who were those girls who looked exactly like her and her friends? Cornelia stomped her foot in anger. Every time she tried to think of what happened, more questions came up.

"Maybe it was all a dream. But… oh I have to find out!" Cornelia stormed out of the door with only one thought. She had to find Will…

* * *

Cornelia set off into the still night. More questions were pouring through her head as she moved quickly from each street. Okay, she thought again as she rounded a corner heading to where Will lived. I think Phobos said in my dream or whatever that that shadow thing was a Dream Catcher. What was that supposed to mean? What, did it catch dreams? He also said it would soon find the others. At least she thought he had said that. But did that mean that her friends were in danger… 

She walked up the stairs to Will's apartment and knocked loudly. There was no answer. Cornelia cautiously turned the knob and found that the door swung open easily.

"Uh, hello. Anyone here?" she asked as she stepped inside. Again no one answered. Cornelia walked through the place and saw a note on the table. She went over and picked it up. The writing was very shaky and there were large blotches here and there from tears.

_I know you guys have come looking for me. I'm sorry but I've made my decision. I just can't do anything anymore. I can't be a Guardian, I can't be your leader. I don't even know why the Heart chose me. After Cornelia left, everything bad has started to happen, and now… I just need to be alone for a while. Please, don't come looking for me._

_Will_

Cornelia stared at the letter. It sounded like Will had left the group. Well it's about time it all caught up with her, she thought with a sniff. Will has finally seen my point of things. But Cornelia couldn't help having a pang of guilt at what Will had written. 'After Cornelia left, everything bad started to happen'.

"Is it my fault?" she asked herself quietly. "Is that how everyone is feeling, that bad things start happening because I left?" Anger surged through her again. She just _knew_ that that was how they felt. They thought that everything was her fault. She knew that the instant they saw her, they'd start to blame her for everything! Her anger dimmed a little as some of it was filled with curiosity.

"But, why would she leave? What happened?" Against her own will, Cornelia turned around and head out the door. The Guardians were the last people she wanted to see, but yet, they were the ones she needed to see. She needed answers! She would not stop until she got them, even if it meant confronting the people who she was angry at. Still clutching the note in her hand, she ran out the door and started to head toward Taranee's house. She was the closest.

What is happening, she wondered running again through the night. Oh, things were simpler while we were fighting Phobos in Meridian. She frowned. Actually, things were simpler when she was an average, popular girl. Not a Guardian of the Veil…

* * *

When she got there, she knocked heavily, so worn out from running. Taranee slowly opened the door and yelped. 

"Cornelia! You're the last person we expected to see! What are you doing here?" Cornelia couldn't respond. Her chest was still screaming for air so she sat down in a chair with her hand on her chest.

"Wow, what's got in to you? You are all mad and say that you don't want to be a Guardian anymore, and then you come wondering back to us!" Irma said stiffly. Cornelia kept her hand on her chest to steady the breathing.

"I, never, said that." She breathed. She got a pang in her chest. Cornelia had sort of felt that way, but she had never had the courage to say it aloud, after all they've been through…

"What do you mean you never said that?" Hay Lin questioned looking confused. "Elyon wouldn't lie to us!" Cornelia gasped.

"Elyon was here! I last saw her in a prison with Phobos!"

"Okay." Taranee said using a calming motion with her hands. "How is any of this possible? You yelled at Elyon and then we went to Candracar where Yan Lin told us that you were held captive by Phobos. Now you are out of his prison and you are telling us that you never said any of those things? What's going on?" They all looked at Cornelia. She shrugged.

"I'm confused too. I remember a gold mist coming. I yelled 'help' and fell asleep I think."

"So something did happen to you while we were on the phone." Hay Lin said. Cornelia looked up.

"I think so. The next thing I remembered was that I was bound by magical ropes and Elyon was being lead to where I was held. A shadow thing came over me. Then I woke up." They all paused and looked at each other. A little bit of understanding passed through them.

"The same thing happened to us." Irma stated as her eyebrows furrowed. "A shadow passed over us and the next thing I knew, I woke up from what seemed like a dream."

"No way!"

"Me too!"

"Really?" Cornelia asked. "So we either all had the same dream, or everything that happened to us was real." Silence followed her words.

"But," Taranee began. "If you never said anything to Elyon, then the Cornelia she saw was an imposter! It could have been our evil look alikes. But how are we supposed to know if it was a dream or not?"

"Phobos called the shadow a Dream Catcher. Maybe something's happened to us that we don't know about." Cornelia told them frowning. Voices broke into her thoughts and reminded her something.

("Break this curse.")

("Go find her.")

("Work together.")

("Or be destroyed.")

"Those voices again!" Hay Lin shouted. "They keep trying to tell us something!" Cornelia looked down at her hand. Her knuckles were white but she saw the note that was still held tightly in her fist. 'Go find her'.

"You guys. I stopped by Will's. She left this note."

The girls' eyes opened wide as they read it. They each got up quickly and ran to get their jackets.

"Come on." Irma shouted pulling on her arm.

"Wait but what's going on? Has something happened?" Cornelia yelled as she chased after them. Taranee just called over her shoulder.

"We'll explain on the way Cornelia."

"Hold on!" Hay Lin yelled pulling to a stop. "We don't know where to look for her." They all stopped and stood there wondering.

"Well, there's one place I think she might be." Said Taranee slowly. "It's the perfect place to be alone."

Cornelia just realized something. Wasn't she the one who wanted to be alone? Isolated like Will was at the moment. Her thoughts went back to why she was in the first place. She felt like kicking herself. She had left the house with Caleb unprotected. If anything happened to him… she would never forgive herself, or her friends. Cornelia just thought of how the situation looked to Irma, Taranee, and Hay Lin. They were acting like she had just joined the group again, like she was a Guardian of the Veil again. Cornelia wasn't ready for that yet, and she wanted to make that point clear.

"I just want to point out that this doesn't change anything right now. We just need to find Will and sort out everything and that's it, okay." The each looked at her. And Cornelia couldn't help the feeling that they looked a little hurt. They looked at each other and sighed before they started running again toward where Taranee was pointing ahead.

"Well, maybe you'll change your mind." Hay Lin shouted. "You know, we miss you."

Feelings started stirring inside of Cornelia, emotions she couldn't control. Why was she treating everyone badly? Well, she thought. I just can't deal with all that right now. I need answers though so that's why I'm going with them. Phobos has something to do with this. Cornelia just knew.

"Friends or no friends." Cornelia whispered to herself as she jogged behind Irma. "We're going to go find Will, and then figure out what's going on!"

Okay, I hope you enjoyed this chappie! I might write the next one and post it tonight. It depends on how happy I am. (So far it's looking that way because I just bought another book!) But I'll write and then read. The next chapter goes back to Elyon and Phobos, but you'll catch the Guardians again on the 15th chapter. Please review! I love reviews!


	16. Mind Games

Okay I decided two chapters in one day would be fun!

**Chapter 14: Mind Games**

Elyon's POV

Phobos laughed cruelly at the scene. Elyon was disgusted. How could he play with her friends like this! Elyon looked up past her prison and saw each of the Guardians floating limply in the air with the purple aura around them. First it only had Cornelia, but soon those Evil Guardians successfully tricked the others to where the Dream Catcher resided. And she was forced to watch this. Phobos wanted to have his fun before getting rid of all of them. It sent anger pouring through her veins. Although it pained her, she needed to watch for other reasons. Elyon was listening carefully to every word Phobos said, in case he said anything of his plan. She hoped that her friends would find out everything, but it started to seem like Phobos had finally won.

Elyon looked closer. The girls were held high up in the air but large oval images were shown under each of them for eyes to see exactly what was happening in their heads. It was like a camera video taping their dreams. She watched as a nurse spoke softly in Will's image.

"Will, you're mother is dead."

Will opened her eyes wide and stood back shaking her head with disbelief. Her lips started trembling and she couldn't help the tears that had already uncontrollably streamed down her cheeks.

"H-How? She can't have died! S-she can't!" The nurse walked forward more and Will still backed away.

"I'm so sorry. By the time she arrived in the Emergency Room, she had already lost most of her blood in her head. Her brain was dying from lack of oxygen. We couldn't save her." He truly looked sorry. "They have realized that you have a father and will take you there once you're ready." The nurse lunged forward to grab her but she screamed and jumped out of the way.

"No! Get away from me!" She ran out of the hospital and down streets in tears. Animals started howling as she ran passed gates. She suddenly stopped in front of a door. Taranee answered it and both of their images merged together. Elyon was shaking. She had to know.

"Is her mother really dead?" Elyon asked fearfully. Phobos just smiled evilly.

"No. At least not yet." He laughed. "But Will thinks she is which is all that she needs to know." Elyon needed more information.

"I still don't get what you're exactly doing with them. How is your plan possibly going to work?" Phobos grinned an evil twisted grin. He was going to say it. She just knew it.

"Well Elyon, if you haven't figured it out already. These alternate Guardians here." He said pointing to the women looking eagerly at the pictures. "They have more power than your dear friends. In fact, they pretty much gave it to them." To demonstrate they all started firing their new powers all over the castle sending guards screaming in terror. They laughed and went back to the show.

"Since they got more powers, they broke out of their universe and made a plan, a wonderful plan to free me and have me rule over Meridian and get the Heart of Candracar. It was too perfect. They had a disguised trap set for you as your friend Cornelia. They already had her as a prisoner. Then they sought out me and broke Cedric and I out of the Tower of Mists. He's still weak." Phobos added disgusted at his servant. They all looked back at each of the scenes. Will was crying and Taranee started to pat her on her back. In the other images, the girls started waking up with confusion. Phobos was about to start talking again but Elyon beat him to it.

"So that wasn't Cornelia!" Elyon exclaimed. Phobos either didn't hear her or ignored her as he went on with the explanation of his brilliant plan.

"They told me the plan and I found the Dream Catcher which has already killed one Guardian and countless others before. The dreams themselves don't come true in real life but if you do something to yourself that is of your own free will, it does happen in real life. Hopefully they'll hate their lives so much and drown themselves." The Evil Guardians snickered loudly with pleasure.

"And if not." He said simply. "The Evil Guardians will get the Heart anyway and then destroy them. The Dream Catcher, you see takes control of a person's mind and fills it with a nightmare of fears. It's enough to make anyone go crazy. Or destroy themselves."

"So they are living their worst fears." Elyon said horrified. "Why did you tell your whole plan to me?" She felt her brother's eyes bore into her own. Those eyes made her feel anger and hate towards everything he had done, everything that he was doing. He kept them locked as he spoke coldly.

"Give me the Crown of Light."

"No." she responded firmly. Phobos would never wear her crown again. Not even if she died.

"Give it to me!" He yelled sending a bolt of magic to her body. She shook with pain as it connected with her body. Intense heat was coursing through her, and then suddenly it stopped. Elyon rolled back over and saw Phobos bearing over her.

"Where is it?" he demanded, already magic sizzling at his fingertips.

"I don't have it!" she spat. He lowered his hands with questioning eyes.

"Then who?"

Elyon glanced quickly at the images and didn't answer. She saw Irma and Hay Lin's image go together with Will and Taranee's as they went and hugged her.

"Oh we're so sorry Will." Came Hay Lin's voice. Phobos scowled and walked back to the images where the Evil Guardians were standing.

"If you won't tell me where it is, I guess you just have to sit here and watch them suffer!" He screamed as he leaned a curious eye to the image shown.

"I'm sorry. I just can't do it anymore! It's too much!"

"Do what anymore?"

"Everything. It hurts too much! I can't do it anymore! I can't be a leader, I can't be a Guardian anymore!" Will walked out the door and her oval image separated from the other three's as she walked off crying into the night. Phobos could not have had more glee. It seemed like everything was working better than he had planned.

"She's left the group!" Evil Will exclaimed happily. "She doesn't have the heart in it anymore."

"Excellent!" Phobos said. "It's all going according to plan then. They will become so confused, so immersed in their own fears that they'll weaken themselves and that's when we will go in with the kill. We will soon gain control of Earth and Meridian, and ultimately Candracar!" Phobos looked back to Elyon and she gulped.

"You will give me my throne, or watch the Guardians die."

Elyon gasped and pleaded in her head. Cornelia, she thought desperately. Don't let him get it. The Guardians had to release themselves from their fears, but how could they do that if they didn't know what was going on? Her fate, along with the universe's seemed to lie with them. They had to beat their own mind games, or risk destroying themselves.

Alright then so now you know more about what Phobos plans to do, cough, has already started to do. The 15th chapter will come later tomorrow after I'm back from a family barbeque, or the day after. I'm hoping to aim for one review for a chapter so I hope you review! Thanks to all of you who have already reviewed my story. They make me happy! Until I update, ciao!


	17. Caught!

I'm sorry I couldn't update soon like I planned. We had people come and stay with us and I basically had no time to type on the computer. Well, here is chapter 15 then!

**Chapter 15: Caught!**

Hay Lin's POV

"How much farther do we have to go?" Hay Lin called out ahead of her, panting.

"We're nearly there." Taranee yelled back. "She's probably on the hill that we were on before going to Irma's house later. I can't believe we stayed up without sleeping."

Sleeping? That was something else that was curious. Dreams were really starting to freak Hay Lin out at the moment. First Will had these weird dreams of an evil self. Then they all wake up having basically the exact same dream and with a shadow closing in on them. Or at least I think it was a dream, Hay Lin thought rubbing her head. Oh this is giving me a headache.

Hay Lin stopped as she recognized a familiar breeze flutter across her face. She closed her eyes and listened, concentrating. The other girls looked back at her with wonder.

"Uh, Hay Lin. Are you okay?" Irma asked walking up to her curiously. Hay Lin turned her head with her eyes still closed.

"The wind is speaking to me." Hay Lin answered. "I haven't had this feeling in a while. There are…voices. Very faint though."

If any of the girls thought that this was weird, they hid their thoughts well as they just raised their eyebrows and let her continue. Everyone was quiet. The wind was twirling around and around and Hay Lin listened closely. Sound was carried through the air and she calmed herself and concentrated on hearing the voices again. She almost opened her eyes when she heard small voices being carried in the gentle breeze.

"Will…to your father's."

"I can't…my friends…must stay."

"You don't need them…no…out of the question…come on."

Hay Lin gulped but still didn't open her eyes.

"The voices, they're coming in and out. I think one of them is Will."

"Really? Then we need to keep going." Cornelia sighed grumpily as she started toward the hill, followed by the other girls. Hay Lin let the air guide her. As she ran closer, the clearer the voices got.

"I'm not going anywhere unless it's in my mother's will."

"Alright then, go in the car and I'll take you to her work and retrieve it. We need to go there anyway."

"Why can't I stay with one of my friends? I need to stay in Heatherfield!"

"Why? I'm sorry but you can't decide that."

"Why are you in such a hurry? And how come they sent a nurse to come find me?"

"I have other things to do up here, Will. Could you please go in my car so I can go take you to your mother's work and find out where you'll be staying."

Hay Lin opened her eyes. So some guy is trying to take her somewhere and Will won't budge. She's obviously trying to find a way to stay in Heatherfield. They all slowed down once they started inclining up the hill. Deeply out of breath, Hay Lin only kept going in hopes that they could cure their friendship and get Will to stay. She only hoped that they weren't too late.

At last, the ground was level. It was still dark and the moon shown overhead. Hay Lin looked around. Will wasn't here anymore and she realized that they missed her. She sighed when she caught some noises of shoes walking up the hill. A man with short sandy blonde hair and jeans came up past the hill line and looked at them curiously. Then he smiled.

"So, are you Will's friends that she _needs_ to stay here for?" he said sarcastically folding his arms together. For some reason, his words made Hay Lin's hair stand on end. She shivered as Cornelia spoke up angrily.

"That's right. Now if you don't mind, we need to talk to Will now." She said forcefully. Hay Lin and Irma looked at each other. By the tone of Cornelia's voice, she meant business. And by his smirk, so did he.

"Why don't you go take care of your precious flower." He sneered. Cornelia gasped with her eyes open in fear. Then she bit her lip.

"How do you-"

"Yeah, you wouldn't want anything happening to him, would you?" There was something about the way he was smiling at her, like he knew something that she didn't and was taunting her about it. Cornelia backed away slowly, acting like she was petrified.

"No." she whispered fearfully before she turned around and started sprinting down the hill as fast as she could.

"Corny, wait!" Irma cried as she ran chasing after her. She just called back, "You guys talk to Will and I'll help Cornelia!"

Hay Lin and Taranee were alone with this man, with the stranger who had distressed Cornelia. Why? And mostly, how did he know? Hay Lin decided to speak up.

"Where's Will? She doesn't have to go to her father's, she can stay with me."

"And how did you know that if you were way at the bottom of the hill?" he questioned, still with that weird smile on his face. Hay Lin gulped again.

"Besides, she won't be able to stay with you for long." Hay Lin was already thinking of what to say for an explanation when she heard exactly what he had said. She snapped her head and inhaled sharply.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked getting a little scared. This guy was intimidating, and he knew it. The man had started going down the hill to a dark green car on the road where Hay Lin and Taranee just realized Will was sitting in.

"Wait! Will, we need to talk to you!" Taranee screamed as they started chasing the man down the sloping hill. Suddenly, something big and scaly whipped them right off their feet.

"Ughh." Came Hay Lin as she hit the side of the hill. They scrambled up and saw the man look back at him. His eyes suddenly flashed into something different. The baby blue in them turned icy and his smirk looked very familiar...

"Cedric!" they both yelled, now sprinting down the hill angrily. Will turned around at the sound of their voices. Seeing them running wildly toward her, Will tried to open the door but the locks clicked and she started banging on the window. Cedric hopped into the car through the door that wasn't locked. He drove away sneering and with Will looking bewildered.

"How are we going to find them now!" Taranee yelled. "We don't even know where they're going!"

"I do. They're going to her mom's work. It's not far from here, but I hope we won't be too late."

"It better not be far from here!" Taranee said frantically. "Plus, I'm getting tired of running."

* * *

They walked quietly up to the giant fortress looking building of Simultech. Hay Lin held her breath as she looked at all the signs of struggle up to the door. Footprints were dragged a lot and there were even marks on the walls that Hay Lin couldn't explain. They were clearly done by magic though. 

"The door is open ajar, but the dragging and footprints lead around the place." Hay Lin told Taranee confusingly.

"One of them has to be a decoy." Taranee said heading to the right. "You go inside and I'll follow these tracks." Hay Lin nodded and went inside. She ran into the glass elevator and clucked impatiently as the glass elevator went by each floor. What had happened to Will? What would and could Cedric do to her when she was so obviously weak from what happened? Hay Lin was about to get her answer when the elevator made a 'ding' at the last floor. She stepped through it and looked to see if anything was there.

Nothing. No lights were on and there were no sounds. Maybe I took the decoy, Hay Lin wondered. She was about to head back down to help Taranee when she heard somebody scream.

"No! Get away from me or I'll-"

"Or you'll what Guardian? Use your wonderful powers that don't exist because you don't have any friends?"

"She has friends!" Hay Lin yelled running down the hall. "Will don't listen to him, he's Cedric!" She ran into the room and saw Will with her hands tied up and next to the window. Cedric was a big lizard again and looked like he was trying to push her out!

"I noticed." Will said darkly but then smiled when she noticed that Hay Lin had come to get her. "Hay Lin, he killed a man outside in the front!" Will shouted angrily. Cedric held her hands by the rope and let her lean out dangerously. He was smirking. Will was torn between being angry and being scared. That's just about how Hay Lin was feeling right now. Something was squirming in her stomach as she took in the situation. Will was hanging out the window, a dead man was outside, and Cedric was here, that was enough said for itself. Cedric's tail just burst through the walls and a loud alarm started ringing.

"Well," he laughed. "Now what can you do?"

At that moment, he let go of Will and slithered away. She fell out screaming, falling fast and heading toward the ground. Hay Lin ran to the window and concentrated as never before on letting the wind hoist her up as she was falling to her death.

"No! Will! She screamed. Every thought left her, and so did her energy right before Will hit the ground. Hay Lin fell backward onto the ground, dizziness came and she just lyed there. No sounds came except for the constant ringing of the alarm. She struggled to get up. She strained to gain clear focus again and she staggered over to the window. She looked down and gasped. Will was on the pavement below. Hay Lin started shaking her head and sobs came.

"No!" she said tears streaming down her face. Suddenly there was movement below as Will hoisted herself up on her elbows and started rubbing her head. Relief as she had never experienced coursed through her body and she felt the shock wear off. Hay Lin started to feel dizzy again and slightly sick, especially when she heard another scream.

"Hay Lin! He's dead!" Taranee's voice screamed. Just then, tons of policemen came surrounding the building with guns in their hands. Hay Lin looked down and also saw that Will had disappeared.

"Freeze and put your hands behind your heads!" yelled an officer with a megaphone. "You are both under arrest for murder!"

Getting worse but getting better, right? I hope so, send a review please and tell me because reviews help. The next chapter will come sometime this week so be on the look out. I hope you liked it, see ya!


	18. Kidnapping and Trials

Well, it seems that I couldn't finish this chapter before I went to Missouri. I'm sorry for the long wait because I know it's been bugging some people of what happened to Hay Lin, Taranee, and Will. Well you've waited long enough so go ahead and read it. Oh and thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them!

**Disclaimer: I put this on the first chapter, meaning it for the whole story but I just decided to put it up on this chapter anyway. I repeat, I do not own W.i.t.c.h. or anything related to it. I did however create Ms. Korean and Mr. Stanton. (I just made them up as I was writing)**

**Chapter 16: Kidnapping and Trials**

Cedric's POV

Cedric was filled with glee. Everything was going as planned. Even if he hadn't managed to push Will out the window and kill her in this world of fears. It still worked out, but barely. His mistake had made Phobos punish him dearly. Phobos wanted to talk to her, to get the Crown of Light and the Heart of Candracar in one go. His chance was taken away when Hay Lin managed to keep her alive. She messed it up for him, but Phobos thinks that he can do something different. Something better…

Cedric looked behind him in the backseat. The redhead was lying there fast asleep gagged and bound by magical ropes, too weak after her long fall. Cedric smirked and slapped her hard across the face to wake her up. Her eyes popped open and she yelped in pain before she struggled to sit up. For once, Cedric was happy with Phobos's instructions. Not that he wasn't loyal, no he was always loyal. But some of the things he was told to do only pained him because he knew that he would be punished for failing later. The plans to take care of the Guardians, well…those never went very well. But this one was wonderful! He knew that he could do it easily. He needed to torture them as much as possible for the plan to get the Heart of Candracar to work, and they couldn't do anything to stop him! This was his idea of a good time!

Will stared in horror and looked around. They were parked next to a police station and a small courtroom. Cedric ungagged her, but wasn't prepared for what any girl in this situation would do. She screamed.

"Aaaahhhh! Help! I've been kidnapped! I've been-" Cedric quickly gagged her again shaking with shock and anger. Are all girls like this he wondered, as she tried to close her fist but couldn't. Cedric had to laugh at the sight.

"Well, well. Why don't we have a little chat, Keeper of the Heart of Candracar?" he said smoothly leaning forward against the seat to look at her. "Since you can't talk without screaming, I guess I'll do all the talking." He got amused again when her face started to blend with her hair and her eyes were squinting with anger. Well, he might as well start his part. He had other places to be. Besides, she wasn't going anywhere. This was going to be his best order yet.

"So, how are you doing now that your whole life is a disaster? I mean, life can't go smoothly now that your mother is dead." He could tell that he hit a nerve because a flash of grief spread quickly across her face. Then it filled with anger again and she started squirming in her bonds. If he continued, he'd get somewhere. He just knew it.

"Yes, it's sad indeed. But at least you have your friends to help you. Oops! You don't do you? You left them and they don't look up to you as a leader anymore. Really Will, what kind of leader are you?" Will was shaking so much that it seemed like the magical ropes binding her would fall apart. He had to continue now that he had her where he wanted her.

"You walked out on your friends and your duty. That's why Cornelia won't speak to you. You gave her the cat that ripped her love apart. What kind of friend would do that?" She stopped struggling slightly. Will was considering what he said. That must mean that she thought that there was some truth to his words.

"It's your fault that your powers are gone. You let Cornelia go, you could have kept everything right but you didn't. You could have heeded that Evil Will's warning before you lost your friends, and before you lost your mother…" Her mouth was slightly open and she was staring and his face with disbelief. She knew what he had just said was true. She could have saved everyone if she did what Evil Will wanted.

"Because of you, your powers, mother, and friends are gone and they'll never come back. Not unless you give up the Heart of Candracar. We can sort everything out." Will scowled and turned away doubtfully.

"We'll stop at nothing to get it, and that can get dangerous. We have your friends right where we want them. It shouldn't be too hard to do anything if they're behind bars!" He leaned closer and smiled.

"Give us the Heart of Candracar, or you will witness your friends die" Will's eyes opened wide with horror and she turned away. She seemed so angry and desperate, that her hand was almost clutching into a fist. Anger was surging through the girl. Her feelings of grief, terror, and anxiety had mixed together into a pure emotion that shot out angry sparks across her face. Cedric laughed and decided that he'd leave her with her thoughts. He had two old friends to visit…

* * *

"I'm telling you we didn't kill anyone" Taranee yelled to the courtroom, standing up with anger. "It was an accident that we were found there!" 

"A likely story." the prosecutor said. "And I suppose that you just happened to _find_ the gun that killed the guard and she" he said pointing to Hay Lin "was just standing at the window when that girl fell out. This is obviously a double murder act!" His brown mustache twitched furiously as he pointed an accusing finger at the two teenagers. There was murmuring until the judge's voice broke the noise.

"You are questioning the girls Mr. Stanton, not accusing them without more proof. Ask questions and let them speak." the Judge said quietly but firmly. Judge Cook wouldn't want her own daughter arrested, but what would she do if Taranee was found guilty?

"Right." the balding lawyer muttered quickly and then went back to the questioning.

"So." he said clasping his hands behind his back. "What were you doing at Simultech in the first place? Not a very common place to visit."

Taranee and Hay Lin looked at each other and Hay Lin spoke of the first thing that came to her mind.

"Our friend, Will Vandom, was kidnapped and taken to Simultech after being falsely led there. We heard about it and followed them!" Well, it was almost exactly the truth. She just left out the part about them being magical and chasing a giant lizard man.

"Yeah right. You-"

"Objection! Your Honor, these girls could have been found at the wrong place and at the wrong time! They said that their friend was kidnapped. Maybe we should look more into that." The thin woman with wavy blonde hair who was acting as the girls' lawyer or defense attorney shouted out. Just then, the door opened and two visitors came in to the surprise of Taranee and Hay Lin. Agents Medina and McTiennan walked in looking gleeful.

"If I might say something your Honor," Agent Medina called out sweetly. "Unless Will was killed we had another girl, Elyon, who was most likely kidnapped also. We think that the kidnappings might be related since they both have something that they are mysteriously hiding." Hay Lin and Taranee looked at each other and gulped.

"The same Will Vandom that was pushed out of a window? I think not!" shouted the prosecutor.

"Overruled." Judge Cook quickly said. Then she just rubbed her chin.

"Yes, we would need to look into that as a possibility. Did you girls see him take Will?"

"Yes I did!" Hay Lin said looking relieved. "I saw him hold Will out the window when I came in the room. That's when the alarm went off and he dropped her as I tried to catch her."

"The alarms! Now that's something else. Would you care to explain to me how the alarms were triggered after a large hole was punctured through three walls and offices?"

Everyone was paying close attention to the girls who were squirming uncomfortably in the stand. Then Hay Lin spoke up.

"Well no. I didn't see that. I was paying more attention to my friend dangling out a window!" Hay Lin yelled dramatically and convincingly. Even Taranee was impressed on how she covered it up.

"Well then, how did your friend survive as you say she did?" he stared again. "A long fall like that surely would have killed someone. What do you say to that? Admit it! You have committed these crimes and came up with a kidnapping story to cover up why your _friend_ is missing. You were about to hide the guard too when the police caught you in the act!" the prosecutor spat. The court whispered his words to each other while the girls shook with anger.

"We didn't kill anyone!" Taranee yelled again almost crying but trying to get them to believe them. "Why would we kill anyone? Especially our best friend!"

"Hmm.…I don't know! Why don't you tell me that?" he roared.

"Objection! There is no absolute proof that these girls have done anything wrong!"

"What do you need? A big sign on their foreheads that says 'We did it'?"

Judge Cook banged her gavel down fiercely.

"Order in the courtroom." she yelled quieting down the outbreak of voices. "Now Ms. Korean has pointed out as the defendants' lawyer, that the girls have told the jury what their account of the incident was and that there isn't any evidence that they have committed the crime in question. Now professionals will take the gun and look more into the fingerprints and possibility of the gun being the weapon that killed the man. There was not the body of Will Vandom at the scene, so we can only assume at the moment that the story the accused have presented is true of the girl being kidnapped. As-"

A sudden hush fell through the courtroom. The air got colder and nobody dared to move. The girls looked around mysteriously. They could tell something bad was coming into the room. Voices filled their head and wiped their minds blank right as a purple mist came flooding into the court.

("Keep your minds open.")

("We'll protect you.")

("Find your friends.")

("And destroy this evil.")

They opened their eyes and looked around at all the people staring at them. Something wasn't right. The person who just walked through the door only confirmed their fears.

* * *

Cedric walked in and grinned. 

"I am a witness to these girls murdering the guard at the entrance and Will Vandom."

"Come to the stand and present your case." Judge Cook said in a hallow kind of dead voice. Taranee snapped her head in the Judge's direction.

"Mom?" She asked with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Hay Lin was too overwhelmed to notice.

"That's the guy who kidnapped her!" she screamed jumping up excitedly. "Believe us not him! He's right there. Will said that he also killed the guard!"

"Don't be silly girls." Ms. Korean said in the same dead voice. "Please step down and let the witness step forward. To the stand please and tell us what you witnessed."

The girls stepped down cautiously and looked at her perplexed.

"Wait, aren't you supposed to be our lawyer?" Taranee shouted as the woman sat back down, staring. Cedric walked up to them with a smug look on his face.

"Get out of my way girls."

"You heard him! Sit down!" yelled the prosecutor. Everyone just stared without blinking. Hay Lin thought something weird was going on.

"Something's wrong." She whispered.

Cedric sat down and started his tale.

"I saw these girls murder two people. I saw Taranee with a gun and shoot the poor guard to try to get in the building. Then Hay Lin went in to push their friend out the window. It's very tragic. Why would they try to do that to their best friend? Go ahead and ask them."

Everyone's heads snapped toward the girls' stunned faces.

"Why did you kill them?" the prosecutor questioned with emptiness.

"We didn't! He's lying to you! He kidnapped our friend and-" Hay Lin was cut off by Taranee who nudged her in the side and pointed at the man.

"Look at their eyes."

They looked closely at the purple glow in each person's eyes. It was almost as if they were being hypnotized!

"If you were wondering why you couldn't find the body, I would suggest getting their two friends Cornelia and Irma. After all, they were the ones who dragged the body away from the site. These girls," he sneered looking at them with disgust. "Are guilty."

The court blindly looked to the jury they all answered together absentmindedly.

"Yes, guilty."

"Yes, guilty. Take these girls to a jail cell while we get the other two for them to be sent to a minor cell. Agents, since you seem to know them find the two girls and bring them to the cell while they await their punishment. Court dismissed."

Taranee and Hay Lin gasped with shock and anger as they kicked the guards who were leading them away.

"Cedric! You might get away with this but you won't get away with kidnapping Will or anything else! We'll get out and figure out what you're up to!" Hay Lin yelled.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. You'll find out that you will soon meet your end along with Elyon and the universe as you know it. To show that I keep my promises, why don't you look out the window and see something that might interest you? That's what you get for saving your friend!"

Cedric sneered as everything went in slow motion. The girls stopped struggling and were led outside. Smoke clouded the early morning sky as dawn had not fully approached yet. They slowly turned their heads and stared with their lips trembling. The Sliver Dragon was being burnt down.

Hay Lin gasped and started crying into Taranee's shoulders who could only stare nimbly at the growing flames. A fire truck sounded in the distance, but the damage was already done. Cedric smiled with satisfaction as the girls watched a place they loved get burned to the ground. Taranee couldn't make the flames die down, Irma could wash away the fire, Hay Lin couldn't blow the smoke away, Cornelia couldn't repair the building, and Will couldn't even give them the powers to do so. Their powers were gone and the Guardians were his! There was nothing any of them could do as Hay Lin watched the fire destroy her home.

Cedric watched them being led away to the cells that they'd be staying in until they could be moved. They didn't put up a fight because of the shock. He had two down and two more to go! And then the ultimate prize for Phobos! Will and Elyon would give him what he wanted. Cedric himself would make sure of it!

He walked back to the car to gain the prize that the prince had desired for so long. He peered into the backseat and was stunned to see that the Keeper of the Heart of Candracar, the girl who was the key for the plan to succeed, had disappeared, leaving a long magical rope shimmering in its wake.

Another chapter finished. I'm pretty sure that was the longest. I am planning to have 10 more chapters and the next one gets back to Cornelia and Irma. Review please because I love reviews! Yes, reviews help a lot! Love them lots!


	19. Love Lives Forever

Okay now chapter 17 gets back to Irma and Cornelia, but the others won't be in the dark for long. They all get back together, in a weird circumstance, but it's together all the same at the end of the chapter.

**Chapter 17: Love Lives Forever**

Irma's POV

"Cornelia! Cornelia wait! Can you stop for one little second and get a grip on yourself!" Irma yelled as her legs started to slow down from exhaustion. Cornelia looked back at Irma falling farther behind her.

"I never told you to follow me!" She said, pulling to a stop.

"You didn't have to." Irma breathed heavily as she finally caught up to her friend and put her hands on her knees. "When you took off running like that... it's what any friend would do."

Cornelia stared at her and then huffed. She turned her back on Irma and stomped away with her arms folded across her chest. Oh no you didn't! I can play this game too, Irma thought angrily. With her hands clutched into fists, she marched forward towards Cornelia with steam coming out of her head. She grabbed Cornelia on the shoulder and spun her around.

"Irma!"

"What is your problem Cornelia? You have been a jerk ever since we got back from Meridian, slamming doors in our faces and refusing to speak with us! I don't even know if you deserve to be our friend!" Irma yelled in her face. Cornelia seemed taken aback at first and then showed her rage too.

"I'm going through a rough time and all you do is make things worse, Irma!" she screamed.

"There's no excuse for treating your friends like dirt! No excuse, Corny!" shouted Irma

"Don't call me Corny!" Cornelia's face was reddening. "I don't need to deal with this. See, that's why I'm better off on my own!" Cornelia started walking away with fury. Irma just yelled at her from where she was standing.

"Well go ahead and leave then! It's a habit by now isn't it? Turning your back on your friends." Irma's temper was really starting to get the better of her.

"Irma, shut up! Now you made me forget which street we're on! It looks familiar though." She squinted up at the street signs and then shook her head and walked on. "I haven't forgotten that you stopped me from protecting Caleb when he got little pecks off his petals. Oh, I hate Will for giving me that stupid cat!" She took a left and walked on with Irma following behind her.

"You don't hate Will. You don't hate any of us but you sure treat us like you do. If it wasn't for Caleb-"

"SHUT UP!" Cornelia screamed turning around to face Irma. "I've HAD IT with all of you talking about him like, trying to cheer me up, ooh! I've had enough Irma!"

"Well what about us too! Will's mom is dead and then she left us, and our powers have been taken away by some evil look alikes, but you don't know anything that has happened because all you have seemed to care about is yourself! Or Caleb actually."

Cornelia's eyes opened wide and her mouth dropped open.

"What do you mean Will's mom is dead?"

"I mean that she lost too much blood after falling on a pillar after seeing us in Guardian form at magic practice."

"What! How could that have happened? Will's left the Guardians? Irma, how can our powers be gone?" Cornelia yelled hoarsely.

Irma paused and took the moment to cool down and blow off her steam. When Cornelia was looking at her with anger and confusion, Irma decided that she'd better tell her or she'd blow her head.

"Will left us partly because her mother died. I guess with you gone, our powers gone, her mother gone, and an evil version of herself haunting her, it's a wonder why she hadn't cracked before now."

"Okay now you're making it sound like it's my fault!" Cornelia yelled.

"That's because it just might be part of your fault!" Irma snapped back.

"Irma! WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR POWERS!" Cornelia's face was really red now. Her knuckles were white with fury, but Irma thought she saw something else in her eyes. Was it fear...

Irma didn't answer right away. Something didn't feel right. She sniffed and coughed and then looked up into the sky.

"Hey Corny, look at all that smoke." Irma started walking away but Cornelia followed her with frustration.

"I'm not falling for that mess. You can't get out of telling me. How are our powers-" she stopped as she turned the corner and bumped into Irma who had her mouth dropped open and her eyes opened wide.

"What the-" she stopped too as she turned to look where Irma was looking. Cornelia gasped with her eyes open in fear.

"No! Not Hay Lin... it can't be!" Irma whispered choking every time she tried to speak.

The Silver Dragon, and Hay Lin's home was burning. The first half of it was burning and turning black and some of it was crumbling to the ground. It was then that Irma saw a man creeping away.

"Hey! HEY! Get back here lizard face!" Irma started off in a full sprint with Cornelia following up behind her. Cedric turned around and smiled.

"So, here for the party?" he said slyly.

"Oh, you bet! And it's gonna be a real party kicking your big scaly butt after what you've done to Hay Lin!" Irma yelled. She aimed a punch at his face, but he grabbed her fist and threw her back.

"Oh, Irma. Why don't you use your water power to wash away the fire? Unless just about all your power is stripped by now. The Evil Guardians are even more powerful, which means that you'll stay weak." Cedric snickered.

"Grrr!" Irma got up off the ground. She was about to head for him again when Cornelia's hand shot out to block her.

"What are you trying to do? Why Hay Lin's house?" Asked Cornelia, her voice full of authority. Cedric stared at her before answering.

"It's just a promise I made to your old friend." he said staring pointedly at Cornelia. "And you see, I always keep my promises."

"Yeah right you big lying, no good-" Irma stopped suddenly went Cornelia gasped and turned green. Irma turned after her when she broke off running in the direction of her house.

"No wait, Cornelia! It's too far!" Irma yelled after her. Cornelia decided not to listen as she kept running. Irma turned back to where Cedric was standing, but he had gone. Irma sighed and turned to look at Cornelia sinking away in the distance. Angry that Cedric had gotten away, and not wanting to follow Cornelia as she knew what must have happened, she decided that she had no choice. She started running towards what she was sure would be a disaster!

"After this is over, I might be in fit shape." Irma breathed as she ran hard to try to catch up with Cornelia. "Next time though that we try running all over the city in the middle of the night, I'm taking the bus."

* * *

Cornelia's building was in clear view now. The sky was turning lighter as the sun was about to rise in the early morning. Irma was very surprised that she wasn't tired, especially after running around all day. Everything seems a little weird, Irma thought. Why is all this bad stuff happening to us? 

Irma knew that her face was pink from the wind and running as she got up to the apartment and opened the door without knocking. She knew Cornelia wouldn't mind. Actually, she thought that Cornelia would have a raging fit after she saw Irma again, if what Irma thought happened was true. She started up the stairs slowly and cautiously on tiptoes. When she was in front of Cornelia's door, she took a deep breath, preparing for the worst, and gently pushed open the door.

Irma looked around. The entire room was a mess. Things were knocked over, the curtains were slashed, clothes, books, and papers that looked like homework were scattered everywhere. There was a jolt in her stomach when she noticed another mess on the floor. Cornelia was sitting on her knees holding some lifeless petals in her hand. The rest were on the floor around her. Caleb had been ripped apart.

Irma walked in shaking, not sure what to say. This was Taranee's element. She could help Cornelia pull through this and Hay Lin could cheer her up. Why did it have to be her who followed Cornelia? She's the one who always argued with her.

"Cornelia." Irma whispered and went and put a hand on her shoulder. Cornelia wasn't crying. She was in shock, she seemed kind of like a zombie who had died and come back to life. I just hope that she doesn't chase after me, Irma thought. Help! Somebody get me out of this horror movie!

"After…all I did. It wasn't enough." Cornelia whispered. "How? Why? No he can't leave me!" Cornelia's eyes started spilling out tears. Irma knew that she shouldn't interrupt. The sun was fully rising now. The sky was getting lighter as Cornelia spilled out her heart in tears.

"He's gone! I can't believe he's gone! No Caleb. Please! I can't…" she fell down and started sobbing. Everything was quiet besides Cornelia's loud sobs. It was an eerie feeling and Irma didn't like it. A lot of people say that you should leave someone alone when they're crying, but others say that you should stay by your friend. What to do, what to do…

Irma bent down next to Cornelia and spoke softly.

"I'm so sorry, Cornelia." Cornelia wiped her eyes furiously.

"No you're not! You've never understood! You're only feeling sorry for me now, seeing me crying after you were just yelling at me for this! You think that I wasted my time."

Taken aback, if Irma was the way she was feeling earlier, she would have yelled right back at her. But Irma felt miserable for how she had been acting. Cornelia needed her. She needed a friend even if she didn't want one, especially not Irma.

"No." Irma whispered. "I feel sorry for you because you have to deal with this. Nobody should have to go through this, but we still do. Will lost her mom, you've lost Caleb. We need to be together more instead of falling apart from losses and failures. That's what all best friends do."

"Well how do you know if we're real best friends? Maybe we just stuck together because we were facing danger!"

"You don't really believe that, do you? We were all friends before we became Guardians."

"How do you know it would have lasted as long as it did even if we weren't Guardians? Why is this all happening to me!" Cornelia stopped talking and started crying again. Irma wanted to tell her that it wasn't only her, but it wasn't the right time. Instead, she went and did something she didn't even believe after it was over. She walked over and pulled her into a hug.

"Cornelia, you need to pull through this. Everything's confusing us right now too but we need to try and figure everything out." She looked up at Cornelia. "Caleb will always be with you. You won't forget him and he won't forget you. Death won't stop anything. It can't stop all the things you've done or the love that you shared. Love lives forever, Cornelia."

Cornelia sniffed and walked out of her room and down the stairs. Irma let her go and was sitting there in disbelief.

"Wow! Did all of that come out of my mouth? I guess I can be really sympathetic if I want to be." Irma said pulling a hand through her hair. She looked down at the petals on the floor and her heart lurched again. If Cornelia wasn't speaking to them when Caleb got turned into a flower, what was going to happen now that he was dead?

Irma sighed and walked down the stairs. Cornelia was rolled up on the couch and looked like she was sleeping. She decided to leave her alone in case she decided to take everything out on Irma. She was heading for the kitchen when there was a hustled knock on the front door. Maybe it's Hay Lin and Taranee back with Will, Irma thought as she went to open the door.

"Hold on, I'm coming. You!" Irma just opened the door and saw Agents Medina and McTiennan standing there and couldn't help but to be surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"We have come to get Irma Lair and Cornelia Hale who are now under arrest for assisting in the murder of Will Vandom." Agent McTiennan said dully taking a hold of Irma's arm.

"What! Let go of me! We didn't kill anyone!" Irma yelled as she struggled to get out of his reach.

"No but you helped." He said. "Get the other one. Now come quietly girls or there will be trouble." Agent Medina walked over to Cornelia and shook her. Cornelia opened her eyes abruptly and stared from Medina standing over her to McTiennan holding Irma.

"What's going on?" Medina replied dully also.

"You are under arrest. Now come with us quietly or there will be trouble. You are going to be with your partners in crime, Taranee and Hay Lin." Medina grabbed Cornelia too, but she was in no mood to struggle and was just led away. Irma wasn't putting up with this though.

"Get your hands off of me! I'm not coming quietly! We didn't do anything wrong! What do you mean Will is dead?" Irma shouted as they pushed the girls into the car and slammed the doors shut before getting into the front seats and starting the car.

"I consider this kidnapping without a trial. Our friend is not dead and we didn't help kill anyone, nor did Hay Lin and Taranee! We're just kids!"

The agents ignored all her talking while they drove. Irma was sure that something funny was going on. There was something wrong with the agents and the situation. Why would anyone think that they had killed anyone?

Cornelia was still quiet and didn't look anywhere but the window even after all Irma's attempts to talk to her. Irma tried anyway.

"Corny, remember that love lives forever. You've got to get out of your funk and help me figure out what's going on!"

* * *

They drove on with silence after Irma had talked herself hoarse. They pulled up to a stop at a jail and the agents pulled them out of the car. 

"You can't put us in jail, the pokey, the slammer, the joint, the big house, whatever everyone calls it. We're teenagers!"

"That's why you're going to a camp tomorrow where you girls will spend a lot of time thinking of what you've done. A very long time."

They got inside and were soon led to a cell where Taranee and Hay Lin were sitting on beds looking very gloomy. They opened the bars and pushed them in and locked it behind them. There was a few moments of silence.

"Cornelia, Irma. We knew they'd get you soon." Hay Lin said sadly and looked up at the tiny window near the roof of their cell that was pouring out sunlight.

"What's happening? How is Will dead?" Irma said frantically.

"Will's not dead." Taranee said swinging her legs down off the bed and dangled them with anger. "We were framed for what they think was her murder. What's wrong with Cornelia?" Irma looked back at Corny who had sat on a bed wither head down.

"Caleb's dead." Irma said quietly.

"What!" Hay Lin yelped leaning down to look at Cornelia who was sitting on her lower bunk. "Boy we're not having a good day!"

"I can't believe that my own mother sent me to jail." Whispered Taranee with her head down.

"Don't be stupid! It wasn't really her." Hay Lin said.

"Don't call me stupid!"

Irma gasped and looked at the two of them. Her and Cornelia was understandable, but Hay Lin and Taranee?

"Stop you guys. Why are you arguing?" Irma questioned looking puzzled.

"Oh Irma you're always arguing with someone so give me a break!" said Hay Lin annoyingly.

"So! I'm trying to bring peace for once!"

"That's a laugh. I thought that that was my job." Taranee said.

"Well you don't seem to be doing it too well right now." Irma spat.

"I've had enough of you guys already. I'm going to sleep." Hay Lin said, turning over in her bed.

"You started it!"

"Please! Be quiet! I just lost Caleb and all you guys are doing is arguing!" Cornelia yelled.

"Well, you didn't seem to be too nice to us after you lost Caleb the first time." Irma snapped, which she realized she had said the wrong thing a little too late.

"Grrr! I'm sick of this! I'm not a Guardian anymore! I'm not a friend anymore! I'm all alone on everything I do! Can someone please, GET ME OUT OF THIS CELL!"

"Wow Cornelia. Only the entire police station heard you. Are you sure you don't want to shout about being Guardians to the world?" Taranee said smugly.

"Sure. Why not! I don't care anymore. I'll get a loudspeaker and tell everyone that you guys are magical freaks, and no good friends!"

"Who are you calling a freak!" Hay Lin yelled turning back over. "In case you haven't noticed, you have magic too!"

"Well not anymore! Does anybody have any doubts of why we don't have our powers anymore!" Irma spoke loudly.

Everyone was silent. It was a silence when everything you just said seems to hang over your head and whisper in your brain. Everyone was angry. Nobody wanted to talk.

"What happened to Will?" Irma asked suddenly.

"I don't know! She disappeared." Hay Lin told her waving her hand behind her.

"Wait a second Will!" Cornelia yelled jumping up.

"What are you talking about?" Taranee asked.

"Will." Cornelia repeated, pointing to the window. And sure enough, a very bedraggled and tired Will was smiling shyly at them from the sunlit window.

Okay, uh, when I said at the beginning that they get back together, did I mention that they would fight and were only together in a cell? I guess not. It was horrible for me to write the arguing part, but I think I actually pulled it off.I don't know, I'm usually not good at that stuff. Next chapter, the girls actually start talking, hold the arguments, about everything that's going on. They also find out about a mysterious past Guardian… I'm splitting my writing time between this story and 'Through Different Worlds' now, but that doesn't mean that I will be writing less often. Okay, this was definitely a long chapter, after all that writing, I would really like reviews!


	20. The Meeting in Confinement Part One

Back again, although it's been about a week. I just now got to think about this chapter today because there's been a lot of family stuff going on around me right now that's really starting to bug me, I'm not going to talk about it though. So let's let on to the story!

**Disclaimer: I still don't own W.i.t.c.h or its characters. I'm introducing a new character though, Serenity, and you get to find out what those puzzling whispers to the Guardians are in this chapter. Read on! Part One of this chapter.**

**Chapter 18: The Meeting in Confinement Part One**

Taranee's POV

"Will!" Taranee yelled getting up and running to the window. "We didn't know what to think, where were you?"

Will grabbed a rock near her and smashed the window above them so that she could speak easier. They all held their breath and waited. No alarms or security guards rushing into the cell. Everything was clear.

"Gosh, for teenagers who have supposedly killed me, security isn't very tight around here huh?" Will said jokingly and tried to force a laugh. It wasn't at all convincing and Taranee wondered what was wrong.

"How did you know about all that?" Hay Lin asked losing the anger that she had had a moment ago at the sight of her friend.

"Well," Will started looking around nervously. "I saw everything through the Heart of Candracar. Is Caleb really-"

"Yes." Cornelia whispered in a dead, hollow voice that made Taranee jump up on the bed she was still sitting on. Will opened her eyes wide with shock and then they tightened with sympathy.

"I'm sorry Cornelia." she said quietly, and her own eyes went downcast and Taranee knew that thoughts of her own loss were spinning in her head. "Anybody else want to add to these past crummy days?" Will asked angrily clutching her hands into fists and closing her eyes tightly, but only after a couple of tears had been released.

"Nope." Irma said frustratedly and started counting off events on her fingers. "I think having five other Guardians having most of our powers, you about to move, Cornelia quitting the group, your mom seeing us in Guardian form, then you quitting the group after she died, Phobos coming back and capturing Elyon, Hay Lin's house burning, Caleb being ripped up, and us being accused of murdering you and being locked in a jail cell is a little too much to be going on with right now. Don't you think?"

"Actually, _Hay Lin and I_ were accused of killing her and the guard. They said that you and Cornelia dragged her body away." Taranee said coolly.

"Does it matter? We're all stuck in a cell aren't we?"

"You guys." Will started as all their eyes moved in her direction. She bit her lip and went on. "Just stop fighting, please! It's making all of this even worse!"

"Well who are you to order us around when Irma said that you stopped being our leader?" Cornelia snapped. Will seemed taken aback by her outburst after being so quiet.

"Well _excuse me_! You left the group first!" Will yelled as a matter of factly.

"Yeah, well I had had a big loss that's now permanent! What have you-"

"MY MOTHER IS DEAD!" Will shouted. Pink sparks erupted around her as her anger rose.

"OUR POWERS ARE GONE! EVERYTHING BAD IS HAPPENING WITHOUT A REASON!" she yelled her face reddening with every word she spoke.

"I HAVE TO CARRY THE HEART OF CANDRACAR! I'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED! THAT EVIL WILL IS WHISPERING IN MY HEAD EVERY MINUTE, _EVERY SECOND!_" she stopped and buried her face in her hands. Then she started clawing at her head.

"She won't leave." Will whispered. "She's not letting go without the Heart."

The other girls looked at each other silently. They could tell that she was suffering through something that they couldn't quite get a grip on. There was a weird ringing in the room. Taranee looked at her friends with worry. What's happening to us, she wondered frantically. What's happening period!

"Will?" Taranee said quietly. "Will we-"

"Ah!" Will's hands left her head and one of them was flying upward and the Heart of Candracar floated above it. Magic started swirling around the cell in a purple mist. The girls all screamed.

"Will! What did you do?" Hay Lin yelled, jumping to her feet.

"I didn't do anything!" Will yelled looking scared. "I can't move anywhere! Something's making me still!"

"It's that mist stuff!" Irma yelled jumping up and wrapping her arms around Taranee's neck. "We're done for! Oh, I hope none of the cops can here this!"

Taranee couldn't see. There was only darkness clouding her eyesight. She couldn't see any of the other girls either. It was so much like the stuff that came out of the Seal of Phobos when they were in Cornelia's room. That seemed like a lifetime ago. She couldn't figure out-

"Taranee?" came an echoing voice. It seemed distant and it sounded like-

"Hay Lin!" another voice yelled. "How come we can hear each other?"

"Irma!" Taranee yelled, thankful that she could hear them. "Where are Will and Cornelia?"

"I'm here!" another distant voice sounded and Taranee could tell that it was Will. There was a few seconds silence before Cornelia said that she was fine.

"Okay, now the real question is." Will began, obviously looking around. "Where are we?"

("You've come Guardians.")

("We've been waiting.")

("Thing's are getting worse.")

("You need to understand.")

"Oh no!" Will said groaning with desperation. "Not more voices!"

"It's those whispers again!" Hay Lin cried. "What are they talking about?"

Taranee had been wondering the same thing. What were those whispers about? They kept coming and telling them what to do in their heads. She couldn't stay in the dark much longer.

"Who are you." She found her voice echo through the darkness. There was a humming sound vibrating just above her. Taranee tried to look up but still found herself as movable as a stone. Instead she listened closely for any other sound, anything.

("You ask, who are we.")

("You need to know more important things.")

("So let's just say that we are here to help you.")

("We are just whispers from the past.")

Taranee could hear Irma's laughter going in and out in the dark space that they seemed to be floating in.

"I'm sorry but if you think that we are going to just keep it with that, you're out of your minds!"

"Yeah, if we're going to be stuck in the dark for a while, we're going to need more information." Taranee said mockingly like Irma had. The humming of sound grew more intense. What was going on!

("We are former Guardians.")

("Former Keepers of the Heart of Candracar.")

("You need to figure out what's happening.")

("Or suffer in this nightmare.")

"Enough! Why do we have to figure all of this out? Why can't anyone ever know what's going on? Stop giving us these tantalizing hints about 'being friends' and 'working together' or we'll 'suffer'!" Cornelia yelled, her voice ringing in and out in the emptiness. "I'm sick of asking questions! All this bad stuff is happening and we don't know why! WE NEED ANSWERS!"

Taranee gulped and squinted as she tried to look around. Would they finally get some answers after all? She gasped when she saw a silvery light up in the darkness. It was coming down and was sparkling with a brilliant light. Taranee couldn't help being in awe. She barely heard voices in the back round.

("We will show you what we can.")

("But we are not allowed to give you answers.")

("Just follow closely and you will understand.")

("Let me show you how I died.")

"What do you mean you're not allowed to give us answers?" Cornelia shouted but her voice was wiped away after a flash of white light.

Taranee blinked in the bright light and looked around. The five girls were standing on rock outside on a cliff. A breeze swept by them making their hair and clothes flutter in the salty air. A seagull swept through the sky above them and out of sight. Taranee walked over to the edge of the cliff and shivered. It was kind of scary being on a high cliff and being easily able to fall down. She looked to the bottom where there was sand and water with waves crashing over the rocks. Irma came up beside her and whistled.

"Whoa! Imagine falling from up here." She said looking down at the rocks below.

"Don't remind me." Taranee said steeping away from the edge with a sickening feeling in her stomach.

"What are we even doing here?" Cornelia asked pulling on her shawl across her chest at the wind from the waves.

"I don't know." Will groaned angrily. "Aren't we supposed to be seeing how someone died or something? Why are we on a cliff near the ocean?"

"Hey! Look over there!" Hay Lin shouted and they all looked in the direction in which she was pointing to see a girl with a long white dress moving toward them. Hay Lin ran up to her eagerly.

"Well finally! Please, we need your help!" she said stopping right in front of the girl. The girl went right through her and kept walking.

"Huh?" said Hay Lin, confused, as she spun around behind her.

"My gosh! She went through her!" Irma exclaimed, her eyes popping out. "Does that mean that we're ghosts or something?"

Taranee shook her head. There were too many unexplainable things going on. As the girl came closer, Taranee got to see her full features. She had long, straight, brown hair that was pulled out of her face with strands hanging down and hazel eyes clouded with anger and stress. She looked to be about seventeen and was marching forward with pure determination. The girls jumped out of her way even if she would go right through them, and watched her trip and slump down to the ground, shaking with sobs.

"Please! No more, no more! I can't take it! Don't hurt me anymore!" she sobbed into the grass. The Guardians looked at each other and then looked back at the ground.

"I was so stupid! Serenity, how could you have been so stupid! They're all gone! No more Guardians! No more friends! It's my fault. All my fault!"

Taranee looked around as she heard a gasp and saw Will with her eyes widening. She started to tremble for some reason and kept opening and closing her mouth without any sound. The girl, Serenity suddenly stood up with angry tears running down her face.

"I can't take this anymore! Everything worth living for is gone! I hope you're happy Oracle! And here's your stupid Heart of Candracar!" Serenity unleashed the glowing amulet from her body into her hand. She stared at it for a few seconds and then threw it as hard as she could outward until it started falling into the sea. She gasped and her eyes went big as if she had made a huge mistake.

"No!" she whispered leaning forward. "No, I'm sorry." The girl fell forward off the cliff with her arms outstretched. Something was making Taranee lean forward too.

"Oh no! I don't like the way that this is goiinnnnggg!" Hay Lin screamed as they all fell forward off the cliff, hurtling toward the dangerous waters. Taranee's stomach lurched and she screamed before she hit the sharp rocks.

Strangely, she didn't feel pain, but she knew that she must be dead from falling on to those rocks. She was out of breath when she finally opened her eyes and noticed the other Guardians doing the same.

"Are we dead?" Irma asked, rubbing her back.

"I don't think so." Taranee answered checking her glasses, which were, thankfully, still in one piece. She looked around. This place seemed familiar…

"It's Phobos's castle!" Cornelia yelped. "Wait a second. Something is starting to connect, it's familiar…" Taranee stared at her as Cornelia scrunched her eyes up in confusion and concentration. Her eyes then wondered over to a body sprawled on the floor. Serenity was in a pool of blood and was struggling to breathe.

"No!" Will said as she scrambled up beside the girl and grabbed her hand that was lifting up to the sky. "Wait, what is she doing?"

Something bright was coming out of her hand. It was the Heart of Candracar, shining with all its glory. The Heart seemed kind of fuzzy, blurred kind of. It rose up until it leveled with Will's eyes, where you could see the reflection of the crystal shimmering in the glossy brown. She looked down at her own hand and brought out the real Heart. She squinted her eyes at the two of them, and then looked back down at Serenity. All the girls crowded around.

"Death, is, the only way, out." She gasped, trying to get air. Blood was filling her. She was losing consciousness. "Phobos has…Dream Catcher…" her hand fell down. The Heart disappeared. The girls were staring at her lifeless body in Phobos's castle.

Taranee blinked. She blinked again. They weren't in the throne room anymore. Two bunk beds were on either side of a cramped cell and a small window was up in the corner. Will's face was even visible through it as she stirred. Everyone else was rubbing their eyes on the beds.

"Okay…" Irma said. She was interrupted however.

("You just witnessed my death Guardians.")

("It's the same thing that is fated for you unless you work together.")

("No more arguing, listen to each other.")

("Or Phobos will succeed in his plan.")

"Wait! What plan? Phobos is behind this?" Cornelia yelled.

("No more.")

("Fight this darkness, and defeat this evil plan.")

("Be true to your heart.")

("And you, the Guardians of the Veil, will be united once more!")

The humming in the air stopped and everything felt eerie. Taranee knew that the Whispers were gone. She faced the other girls who were wearing looks of confusion on their faces. With a sigh, Taranee decided that she should start.

"Well, we do need to talk to each other and get to the bottom of all these bad things happening." She said looking around for somebody to agree.

"You're right, Taranee." Said Hay Lin as she pulled her knees up to her chin. "Can we just hold the arguments so that we can speak fully to each other, without distractions.

There was a half-hearted agreement between them. They muttered a little bit and then settled down. Cornelia shot a quick glance at Irma, then at Will and huffed. She turned on to her back and started to sulk. Taranee knew that she was listening though. She wouldn't pass up any explanation to what was going on.

"Okay, right then. Let's start at the beginning, when everything started to go wrong. When we got back from Meridian."

That was just part one of two. I had to split them on because this was a really, _really_ long chapter that was on like the 10th page on Word. I'm posting these at the same time so the discussion they have is right after. Keep going! (Warning: The next chapter is a lot of talking because the girls are trying to figure out everything.)


	21. The Meeting in Confinement Part Two

Here's part two then!

**Chapter 18: The Meeting in Confinement Part Two **

Still Taranee's POV

"Cornelia, when you left, our powers started weakening. We got doors slammed in our faces and you refused to talk to us." Cornelia huffed again.

"It wasn't only her fault though guys." Said Taranee guiltily. "We fought too much and weren't any better. Hay Lin's grandma said that there was a rip in our friendship. We don't work together anymore and-"

"The Heart of Candracar has found a trace of darkness in our powers." Will finished regretfully. "That's why our powers don't work like they used to."

"See Irma, here's an explanation!" Cornelia sniffed. Irma was about to retort until she saw everyone else giving her a warning look. She fell back down silent, but looking very grumpy.

"Well, now are powers are in the hands of evil." Hay Lin squeaked.

"What! Well you didn't seem to mention that, Irma!" Cornelia yelled.

"Yes I did! But I'm so sorry that Hay Lin's house burning caused me to stop in my elaboration!" Irma yelled back.

"Oh!" Hay Lin started and her face was spread with grief. Taranee needed to steer the conversation back to the explanation.

"Hold on a second. Cornelia never learned anything that the Oracle told us about Phobos and the Evil Guardians. And she doesn't know about Will's mom or the agents or Elyon.

"Yeah! I never learned anything!" Cornelia said with curiosity. All her grief and anger seemed to have left her for the moment as she was determined to find answers. That could be a good thing, Taranee thought happily. The conversation was then turned to Hay Lin.

"So, when you were still in your room I guess, we all met up for magic practice. Then, Will's mom kind of walked in on us and freaked. She tripped over a branch and hit a pillar hard and a lot of blood was coming out. Will left in the ambulance and the Agents cornered us demanding questions. Irma let us get away and I don't really know what happened with the rest of you guys, but I went home until Irma called me and told me about the Agents finding Elyon."

"And I'm guessing that sometime between all that, is when Irma came to visit me." Said Cornelia with a sharp jerk in Irma's direction.

"Yeah, I went to the hospital and couldn't see my mom." Will started choking on her words. "And then I, I had another dream with Evil Will and…" her voice faltered and she looked away. Taranee started to think of what Will had said about her dreams that night on the hill, but everyone was looking at her for her to finish.

"Um, right. And then I went with Will to the park and we talked about her dreams and stuff, of that stupid Evil version haunting her. And of her fear that… well, you know." Her voice started to falter too until Irma took over.

"Well, they finally got to my house where Elyon was being held captive by Agents Medina and McTiennan. I think that Taranee used all her strength to contact Elyon, because Elyon came up with a kidnapping story and Taranee got a ferocious headache. Then Hay Lin said that when she called you, you just screamed help and then the line went dead."

"Yes." Cornelia said thoughtfully. "I told you guys, not Will because she wasn't there. I saw a gold mist coming and then I yelled 'help' and I think I fell asleep.

"But then, we all ran straight to your apartment and Elyon went inside to talk to you. She came out really stressed because of the way that you were treating her." Irma said.

"I told you. That wasn't me."

"So maybe that was the Evil Cornelia, trying to get Elyon down before she went to Meridian." Will explained. "Then Elyon went to Metamoor and we were about to follow before we were summoned to Candracar."

"What was Elyon even doing back in Heatherfield?" Cornelia asked with interest. "Getting caught by agents isn't a very good reason."

"She said that things were getting darker and she thought it seemed like when Phobos ruled." Hay Lin said simply.

"Hold on you guys! If the Cornelia that Elyon spoke to was Evil Cornelia, then she would have had to do something to Cornelia to get her out of the way!" Taranee exclaimed jumping up. Irma gasped.

"The golden mist! You said that you fell asleep. Maybe Evil Cornelia used some wacky extra of your power and used it to put you to sleep, then they took you and put you in a prison until you saw Elyon there too!"

"This is a lot of guesswork if you ask me." Hay Lin replied. "But it could be true. We could leave it at that."

"But wait! Nobody's told me exactly how these people got our powers!" Cornelia yelled, getting frustrated.

"We're getting to that." Irma said irritably. Will sighed.

"Okay Cornelia. There is an alternate universe out there that shows everything the opposite of what is here. It was created when Elyon was born because there was too much magic in our universe and it could have killed all of us. All our left over magic got sent there. Since our universes are the opposite of each other, good in our universe would be bad in the other. That's where the Evil Guardians come in. They didn't like having our excess power, so they were seeking a way into our universe and then to break Phobos free and let evil rule the more powerful universe. They couldn't do that until our powers got weaker after we kept fighting. There is a lot of power split between both the universes, with us having the most in our universe, and the Evil Guardians having little in the alternate one. When our powers got weaker, theirs grew. They finally got into our universe and busted Phobos out of the tower and are holding Elyon captive. We know that they have a plan of some kind…"Will broke off in wonder. Cornelia was gaping at all of them.

"So, what you're saying is, that we basically gave them our powers!"

"Well, it sure seems like it." Hay Lin answered. They sat there, watching her.

"I know that you all are thinking that this is all my fault!" Cornelia yelled with rage and suspicion.

"Actually, if you think about it, it's all of our faults." Taranee said quietly. "None of it wouldn't have happened if we hadn't have treated each other badly."

"It's Phobos." Will said quietly but angrily. "Without Phobos, Elyon would have had the throne long ago."

"But then I wouldn't have ever know my best friend!" Cornelia said with shock.

"And, we probably wouldn't be Guardians." Hay Lin whispered. Will was about to speak, but then thought better of it. A few seconds later, she tried again.

"Well, maybe after all of that. If it wasn't for Phobos, Caleb would have still been alive. Then Cornelia wouldn't have left us. If it wasn't for Phobos, the Evil Guardians wouldn't have been wanting to break free of their universe so badly to free him. If it wasn't for Phobos, Elyon would still be in her throne in Meridian instead of in a prison, and…" Will stopped suddenly and her eyes went wide.

"Guys, what's a Dream Catcher?"

"Now that does it!" Cornelia yelled jumping to her feet. "It's that stupid Dream Catcher I keep thinking about!"

"But wait, I think what happened next was where everything started to get weird. Let's continue or I'm going to get confused." Taranee said rubbing her head.

"After we got back from that so confusing trip to Candracar, we went to Meridian and faced off the evil versions of ourselves. They said that they had Corny or something." Irma stated. "Then, they ran away saying that Cornelia was going to suffer for Will not giving up the Heart. We ran in an alley and that's when we first heard the whispers. Then, a black shadow crossed over us. The next thing I knew was that I had just woken up."

"Yeah, me too. I woke up in the hospital and that's where I found out, that, that my mom was dead." Will spoke quickly.

"Whoa! After I found myself tied up in Phobos's castle, I saw Elyon beside me. Then I think Phobos said to release the Dream Catcher and, um, something about some others." She said, furrowing her forehead with concentration. "I can't remember, it's too hard."

"Try." Taranee pleaded.

"Okay, a black shadow came over me too. Then I woke up and went to go find Will where I found her note at her house. Then I went to Taranee's for an explanation."

"Will came to me when her mom died. Then Hay Lin and Irma came over and then Will took off because it all seemed to be too much." Taranee said. Will looked behind her back uncomfortably.

"Cornelia came half an hour I think after Will left. Then we went looking for her when we saw a man coaxing her into a car. Then he said something and Corny started running and I chased after her." Irma told them.

"That wasn't a man." Will said through gritted teeth. "That was Cedric trying to kidnap me and head you guys off."

"What!" Cornelia and Irma yelled together.

"Yeah, we kind of figured it out when a big tail knocked us backward when we saw Will in the car." Said Hay Lin irritably. "We went to Simultech where I found Cedric dangling Will out of a window and Taranee found a dead man. Cedric made all the alarms go off and then dropped Will. I tried to keep her up and it barely worked. A bunch of cops then came and arrested us and Will had disappeared."

"We went to court and were almost found innocent until Cedric came in. We saw a purple mist and the Whispers came yet again. Then everybody was weird, like they were hypnotized. They found us guilty of 'supposedly' killing Will and sent the Agents to get Cornelia and Irma for dragging her body away." Taranee said.

"Corny and I kind of had a fight. Then we saw Cedric by Hay Lin's house burning and went running off to Cornelia's apartment where we found Caleb ripped up. Then the Agents took us here without a good enough explanation. They did seem kind of hypnotized to me. You know what, I think Cedric was the one who ripped up Caleb and set the Silver Dragon on fire." Irma exclaimed.

"Good going Sherlock." Cornelia retorted.

"Knock it off you guys. Irma has to be right." Will said pulling a hand through her hair. "Listen, when I woke up in a car after Cedric slapped me, he told me things. It's horrible."

"You're not telling me that you believed that fat, lying, cheat!" Irma yelled. Will shrugged and kept her eyes downcast.

"Then, Cedric left and I was trying to get out of my magical ropes around me. I was really angry, angrier than I ever think I have been before. I clutched my hand into a fist and, I don't know how I did it, but I broke free. I didn't have any energy left. I collapsed behind the nearest bush." Will said sadly. They all looked at her again.

"Wow, okay. Hang on. Didn't Serenity say something about Phobos has the Dream Catcher?" Taranee asked getting really excited. "Maybe, just maybe-"

"That shadow thing was the Dream Catcher!" Hay Lin yelled. "That would make sense! But what does being clouded by the Dream Catcher mean?" Cornelia cleared her throat and started.

"Well, I started to think that it might capture dreams or something. I don't know. We all get passed by some shadow, and we could barely remember things when we woke up. There are too many questions. What is it exactly? How come we were all someplace else until it passed us and then we woke up? Was everything that happened before that a dream, and if it was, how come all of us remember being together? It doesn't make sense!" Cornelia shouted. She sat back down and lay her head on the pillow as tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"Why? Why is all this bad stuff happening? Caleb got taken from me once and now he's been taken from me forever! I can't I can't-" she turned her head over and started to cry into he pillow. The girls watched in silence until Taranee spoke up.

"But, but what if everything that happened before that was real? What if, what we're in right now is a dream? The Dream Catcher gets us, and then all this bad stuff is happening. Maybe there's some sort of reason for this. What if it's Phobos?"

Taranee began to wonder again. What if all this bad stuff happening was Phobos's plan? He would relese the Dream Catcher to do something to them! But what was it?

" 'He has the Dream Catcher.' So, it's obvious that Phobos is behind all this. But the question is, how is he doing this and what is he planning to do?" Will questioned with a pondering expression on her face. She looked behind her again for a long moment, and then turned back to the window.

"But how do we know? Are we living in some wacky dream right now, or is all of this real?" Hay Lin asked. Taranee shut her eyes tight. All this thinking was making her head hurt. They had figured out a lot, guessed a lot, and had a lot more questions. This was the most confusing situation that she had ever been in!

"Um, you guys. When Cedric was talking to me he uh, a lot of the things he said were true." Will spoke out with dread.

"What do you mean? How could snake man possibly tell the truth?" said Irma who was looking very confused. Cornelia's sobs were slowing down. Taranee thought that she was falling asleep.

"This is all my fault."

"How?"

"This is all my fault!" Will screamed with rage and tears as she buried her head in her hands.

"My mother is gone because of me, all this bad stuff happening, it's because I didn't give up the Heart!"

"But Will, you can't give up the Heart! Don't let anyone try to tell you otherwise! It's your duty!" Hay Lin yelled getting scared.

"AND I HAVE A DUTY AS A FRIEND!" Will yelled. "He said it would be easier to hurt you while…you four were behind bars. Don't you see! Everything they warned me about is coming true! They broke Phobos out of the Tower of Mists! We've had to suffer through this nightmare! She said that she had our powers! They were all right!"

"Will, what is so horrible that you would feel like giving everything up?" Taranee asked while she looked up with concern. "It's not like-"

"THEY ARE PLANNING TO KILL YOU?" she shouted. Will gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth and started shaking her head. Hay Lin and Irma looked at each other, numb with amazement and shock. And Taranee realized that this is what Will's been afraid of, this is what was making her tremble when she thought of the dream that Evil Will gave her. She talked about it that night on the hill. How could she have forgotten! Taranee thought that it must feel horrible to have to carry a burden like her friends' lives on her shoulders. She looked at Hay Lin who was still shaky, but she nodded at her. Taranee turned back to Will.

"Will! Just don't-"

"Ahh!" Will screamed as she rolled over and out of view of the window. In her place, a large scaly tail thumped the ground and there was a roar of rage. Taranee's eyes opened wide with horror and Taranee and Irma scrambled up to Hay Lin to look out the window. They couldn't see anything for a moment.

"Ah! Get away from me!"

"Come here Guardian! Yow!"

"Oh, your poor tail."

"Grrr! You'll pay for that!" Will's body came into view again as she ducked behind a tree as Cedric swung his tail forward.

"How much do you want to bet scale face!" Will laughed.

"How much do you want to bet on the sake of your friends?" Cedric growled. Will ducked again and looked over to the window. Cedric made a grab for her but she started running toward the window and stopped.

"Will we-"

"No! I can't even give them the chance to hurt you!" Will said and she ducked Cedric's tail again and ran out of sight with Cedric chasing her down. Hay Lin bit her lip.

"Do you think she will be okay?" she asked.

"What about us! Did you hear what Will said?" Irma said loudly.

Taranee looked off in the distance. Some pieces of this puzzle were falling together. And some were still missing. We need to piece this together, Taranee thought frantically, looking at Irma and Hay Lin. They couldn't let Phobos steal any of the pieces from them! Taranee knew that they had gotten somewhere. They didn't know everything but they knew about enough. Phobos won't be happy, she thought again with a small smile, that we are on to his plan.

Way too much writing if you ask me. A little overboard, but I hope anyone will be satisfied with nice _long_ chapters. I made an update on my profile page, so anyone who's read 'Through Different Worlds', my other story, can check out the girls' bios and stuff there. Chapter 19 should come anytime within the next week. Until then I would really like the reviews!


	22. Like a Puzzle

Hey everyone! I'm back with another chapter. I already gave a little snippet of this chapter and the next chapter on my other story on my profile page, and I'll keep doing that if anybody wants to check back on my profile for updates. Well, only a week left of this wonderful summer vacation before school starts for me. I'm getting the feeling that I'll start school right after chapter 20 which will leave you with the biggest cliff hanger yet. But please don't hate me if it comes to that, I'll update as soon as I can! Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews! It really brings my spirits up with school coming and me not being able to write as often. Thanks a lot!

**Chapter 19: Like a Puzzle**

Phobos's POV

"YOU WHAT!" Phobos screamed while hurling a blast of magic in Cedric's direction. He recoiled in fear and pain as he writhed on the floor. Cedric caught his breath and squinted his eyes.

"It wasn't my fault sire." Cedric breathed as he tried to stand back up. "I followed her and she-"

"Escaped from you! Yet again! For the third time you weak worthless snake! And she doesn't even have any powers!" Phobos shouted and he hurled more magic at Cedric. Cedric howled in pain and transformed back into his true form as he couldn't hold his human form anymore with all the power against him. He winced and tried bear himself. Phobos knew that he didn't want to show pain and fear. Phobos liked to see him frightened and pained though. It showed that all that Cedric had done wrong was worth this punishment.

"But, but you said that you didn't need to kill her anymore to try and get the Heart of Candracar. After Hay Lin saved her, you said that there might be another way." Cedric hissed as he stood his ground. Phobos was raged and he threw a table that barely missed Cedric's head.

"There is no other way!" Phobos yelled. "The only way for you to get out of the Dream Catcher's midst alive is for someone to kill you, which you have already tried before the air Guardian saved her! If you kill yourself, then you get out but only to die a while later! You know this! The only other way out alive is to use the Heart of Candracar, but Will and the others don't even know that everything that is happening to them isn't real and I plan to have the Heart before they even find out!"

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure of that!" came an angry voice. Phobos and Cedric turned around to see Evil Will marching into the room with pure anger and frustration.

"What do you mean?" Phobos asked raising an eyebrow with curiosity. "They haven't figured out-"

"Oh yeah." She said smugly. "They've almost gotten it all figured out thanks to that stupid snake man over there not getting to Will quick enough!"

"You-" Phobos started as he stared down his servant again. Then he spoke from the corners of his mouth.

"What do they know and how did they figure it out?"

"Well, apparently just like I thought it would, the girls being locked up together fighting didn't last long before they would turn to each other for questions. Whose brilliant idea was that anyway?" she asked.

"It was mine." Phobos said angrily. "But we could continue to blame Cedric and those nosy Guardians if you please. Now get on with it."

"Whatever. Anyway, they were there for a few minutes, and then a purple mist came out of nowhere and we couldn't see or hear anything. A while later, they came out and started talking about everything and trying to figure out your plan. I'm wondering what happened to them in that mist that led them to start working things out!" Evil Will sniffed angrily. Phobos stared at her and couldn't keep the confusement out of his eyes.

"Show me."

Evil Will led the way to where the Guardians were hovering in the air with the purple aura keeping them up. Their eyes were closed and it seemed like an invisible wind was lifting their hair and fluttering their clothes. Their faces looked…peaceful. It seemed weird considering that they were in a living nightmare. Under their floating bodies, two large ovals were shown. One had four Guardians sleeping in a jail cell. The other one had the Keeper curled up under a tree as she tired to prevent herself sleeping. It didn't seem to be working well because her eyes kept closing until she finally fell asleep under the night sky.

"Ugh! Look at them. They're disgusting!" Evil Hay Lin said as she closed her eyes as if looking at something reproachful. "Sleeping in their little beds, peacefully? After all we've put them through."

"Exactly. After all we've put them through, they're worn out." Evil Taranee smirked. Evil Irma rolled her eyes and sighed.

"It's a good thing that they were worn out because I was getting sick and tired of hearing them mutter about figuring out our plan-"

"Phobos, Cedric, Will." Evil Cornelia breathed and she stood up. "We were just-"

"I know." Phobos said quickly. "What have they found out? _How?_"

"Well, they know about the Dream Catcher, but they don't exactly know what it did to them or that they are in a different reality." Evil Hay Lin explained. "They're on to it though, and they know that you must be behind it, Phobos."

"They explained all of the stuff that happened to each of them that the others had missed. Cornelia was the most confused, and she fell asleep shortly after the explanations." Evil Cornelia told them. Evil Will showed a satisfied smirk as she remembered the earlier events too.

"Yes, but at least I have gotten to Will." She said slyly. "She thinks that it's all her fault. I would have to agree with her considering that I warned her about them going through this nightmare if she didn't give up the Heart of Candracar. Oh well, more fun for us."

"There's nothing fun about me not having the Heart of Candracar!" Phobos yelled. He looked back at Cedric again with hate. "Especially since I would probably have it and the Crown of Light by now if all of your jobs were done properly!" Evil Will lost the glint in her eyes and stared him down hard.

"Excuse me. May I remind you who thought of this plan in the first place, Phobos?" she said angrily.

"Well I-"

"Would still be in the Tower of Mists if it weren't for me! Wouldn't have any powers if it weren't for me! Would never have gotten to Will if it weren't for me!"

"Well who had the clever plan for the Dream Catcher?" Phobos asked slyly.

"That was the only thing you've done. You remember our deal, why do you keep acting like you are going to keep the Heart of Candracar?" Evil Will spat. "I get the Heart, and you get the crown, and then we can take over Earth and Candracar together!"

"I remember." Phobos growled. His voice went softer though. "Together, I know. You know, I find you strangely attractive. Your spunk is familiar though." Evil Will's smile grew larger.

"I know. I might be familiar because Will and I think alike, that's why I know that she and her friends will figure everything out unless we act quick enough for them to not be able to stop us. I will get the Heart from Will."

"And I will get the crown from Elyon." Phobos said reluctantly.

"Oh I don't think so." Came a new voice. Phobos turned around to see Elyon staring at him angrily. Phobos chuckled at the sight and motioned for Evil Will to follow him. They walked up to the prison that held Elyon and Phobos sneered.

"So little sister. You are denying that I will get my crown?"

"No." Elyon said simply. "I am denying that you will ever get _my_ crown. And you won't get the Heart of Candracar." She added as she glanced briefly at Evil Will. Anger was stirring deep inside his body and he could feel heat within his icy eyes. Evil Will started on her first though.

"You're so stupid little girl. Of course I will get the Heart of Candracar. Will is such an easy target, so weak."

"She's not weak, and neither are the other Guardians." She lifted her chin and looked straight at Phobos with a deep answer. "And neither am I." Evil Will was getting very frustrated.

"I will get the Heart! It belongs to me!" she yelled. The other four Evil Guardians pulled away from the boring scenes of the girls sleeping to this new scene with interest.

"Wrong again! It's Will's and never will be yours and-"

"Shut up!" Evil Will yelled. She muttered under her breath and marched to where the other girls were standing by the large oval pictures. She stuck her hand in the one with Will angrily. Phobos turned back to his sister. He knew that that was just another attempt to get to Will. She's not weak, Phobos thought in his head, but she is getting weaker along with her other friends. By being exposed by great fears, they have weakened themselves greatly. It wouldn't be long now before everything was put together and they could go in for the kill! Elyon's voice broke his train of thoughts.

"So, are you thinking of a way to get the Crown from me? If you are, you are wasting your time."

Phobos looked down at his sister's determined face. She knew her place and was not going to let Phobos torture her people again. That's why she wouldn't give up the crown. But he knew that she would have to act to save her own life, and the lives of her friends. But how long could she hold the information of the crown's whereabouts? Phobos was about to find out.

"Where is it then since it's obviously not with you?" Phobos asked strictly. He was getting very tired of asking her over and over again.

"You know what's funny." She replied. "You actually think that I'm going to answer."

Phobos had had it! It was enough that he couldn't have the Crown of Light now, but his sister was trying to play games with him! Phobos was not the one to play with!

"Evil Guardians!" he yelled. Their faces turned from Evil Will who was busy with Will's mind again to Phobos with wonder.

"Try and see if you can get an answer from my sister! I dare say that you'll have plenty of fun!" Phobos stormed over to Evil Will and the real Will in the oval. The Evil Guardians smiled with pleasure.

"This is going to be fun!" Evil Cornelia laughed as she made vines come to life and squeeze around Elyon tightly.

"Very." Evil Hay Lin said as she smiled and made a tornado of wind topple her.

"And the best part is, she can't do anything to stop us." Evil Taranee exclaimed as she shot fiery darts at Elyon and watched her recoil in pain.

"And, we will get the Crown of Light in the process!" Evil Irma yelled cheerfully.

Phobos stared at Will in the oval twisting in her sleep. Was Evil Will doing her job? Was everything working? His answer came as Evil Will's eyes snapped open as she pulled her hand back and yelped.

"Ow! That little brat bit me! I can't believe she bit me!"

Phobos couldn't decide if he should laugh or not and hid his laughter as he asked her what happened.

"Well, I was holding her back so that she couldn't blast me back like last time, not that she really could because she's gotten weaker and I've gotten more powerful since then. But I didn't want to take that chance so I held her against a tree while I spoke. Then, she actually bit me! Why that little-"

"But what happened?" Phobos asked frustratedly. Evil Will's face fell.

"It went okay, well, until I said something that reminded her of something. It's not exactly good."

"What is it?" Phobos yelled.

"I kept talking and then I think I said, 'If you won't give me the Heart of Candracar, then death is your only option.' Somehow, that reminded her of something. She muttered something about 'Serenity' and 'death is the only way out.' When I demanded that she tell me what she was talking about, she bit me and started running away. And yes, she's awake now." Evil Will said as she looked at the oval pictures again. Will was rubbing her eyes and looking around before she got up and started running. Phobos knew that there was no doubt that she was heading toward her other friends. But what had she figured out?

"Hold on. The Guardian who died in the Dream Catcher, I think her name was Serenity." Phobos said thoughtfully.

"We've got to hurry Phobos. I think that she has figured something important out!"

Phobos listened closely to the yelps of Elyon and to Will's frantic panting in the image as she ran.

"I know. But there is one more piece of this puzzle that needs to fit before it is complete and ultimate glory is before us. The water Guardian is next, then their ultimate fear will come. This is just like a game, a puzzle. We have to follow through with the plan. But be quick."

"I will." Evil Will answered. She walked over to a chest and opened it cautiously. A dark shadow came out and swirled around above her.

"What are you doing?" Phobos asked with shock. "How are we going to get the Heart that way? What about the plan?"

"I made up the plan. I know what I'm doing. Trust me. The only other way out besides dying is to use the Heart of Candracar, and I intend on having it on my exit!" the Dream Catcher swooped in on her and covered her completely in darkness. Phobos automatically looked up and saw her in the same purple aura that held the Guardians. A new oval image appeared.

Phobos was wondering what she was planning to do. He had a hunch, but it was too risky. How would she do it without ruining the plan? Phobos started to get frustrated again as he watched Evil Will run off into the night. She must know something, he figured. She must succeed and so shall I. I need to get that crown. Then we will be one step closer to controlling the universe! Phobos stopped his thoughts abruptly and he spun around so fast when he heard Elyon's cry.

"Cornelia!" she screamed.

And suddenly, Phobos knew what she meant.

Okay, done with this one then. I'll leave you guys to try to think about what both of those things mean and what I'm planning to do. Next chapter, things are about to get very bad but interesting. Please send reviews!


	23. A Real Tragedy Part One

Hey people! This is the chapter that I thought might come at the end of the week, but I had a real sudden urge to keep writing and writing…Anyways, thank you guys again for all the great reviews! (And thank you for lightening up, you know who I'm talking too.) I'm sure most of the stuff you're asking about is coming in this chapter and so on. Since I will try to write when I can during the school weeks, I hope anybody will be satisfied with a nice _long_ chapter (I say that all the time but this one is _really_ long.)It's also a two part chapter again. Like I said, I kept on writing and writing etc.Just think of it as lasting a week worth of writing, though you all will just read it at once. Okay, nowgulp on to the 20th chapter!

**Chapter 20: A Real Tragedy Part One  
**

Irma's POV**  
**

Irma yawned loudly and barely opened her eyes before wanting to go back asleep again. Why did I even wake up, she asked herself with another yawn. I'm so tired. Man! It feels like we haven't slept in a couple days! Uh, she thought again as she turned around in the bed. Maybe we haven't slept for a couple of days, I'm so worn out!

Irma couldn't take it anymore. She had woken up, and now she couldn't get back to sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about all the stuff that was going on and she had a feeling that something was near. Maybe it was just her tiredness. But what would happen to them now? Will said that they planned to hurt them once they were behind bars. Who? Well, that just might possibly be Phobos, Cedric, and those Evil Guardians who ripped off our powers. Where was Will anyway, Irma thought as she lay her head down on her pillow, looking up at the top bunk that she knew Taranee was occupying. She started wondering if she would be okay. Would _they_ be okay?

Sitting up and rubbing her eyes, Irma looked across the small cell and saw Cornelia in the lower bunk, sleeping with her front towards the wall. Well, she just lost Caleb, Irma thought sadly with a dry hint to her thoughts. After all we've been through, and are going through; I would have thought that we should be working together. She looked again at Cornelia. Hmm, she thought again. Fat chance. Well, Hay Lin was just above her and didn't seem to be sleeping too soundly either as she was turning around in the bed a lot. Either the beds really weren't very comfortable, or Irma wasn't the only one with things on her mind that night, or morning. She had been sleeping for so long; she didn't know what time it was.

Irma walked up to the bars of the cell and stared out into the very dimly lit hallway. It didn't seem like anybody was coming near them towards the cell, so why was she having that creepy feeling? Bad stuff had already happened to the other Guardians. She started to feel like it was going to be her turn. Her breaths were getting quicker and her body started to feel icy with anticipation. But what was-

"Ah!" Irma gasped after she turned around and she jumped in the air. This wasn't good. Evil Will was staring at her from the window. She looked at Irma with a sneer and then reared back for an attack.

"Oh no you don't!" Irma yelled. She closed her eyes and concentrated. It turned out to be harder than she thought. She didn't have much power to be going with but she couldn't sit there and let her try and get rid of her and her friends without a fight. Oh, what she wouldn't do for Will and the Heart of Candracar right now. She suddenly started to feel a bubbly feeling and felt a tug in her back. It was actually working! She was transforming! Little powers or not, she wasn't going down easily! Irma looked down at herself and sighed with relief. She was in her tall, beautiful Guardian form. It was time for a duel of magic!

"Everybody wake up!" Irma yelled. "We have some company!" Cornelia turned around slowly in her sleep.

"Irma?" she whispered as she yawned deeply. "What are you-?"

"Oh!" Evil Will cried out in joy. "I was so hoping that you'd do that, water Guardian! Now you've set it against you perfectly! You're next!" she laughed.

"What do you mean?" Irma asked bluntly. "Why you!" Irma closed her eyes and imagined a hydro pump of water blasting the smirk off Miss-know-it-all's face! She opened her eyes and saw a little bit of water going out like a squirt gun, and then falling on the ground of the cell. Irma looked down at her pitiful water attack and gulped.

"Um, I need some help over here please!" Irma called out again as Evil Will sat there laughing. "You guys! Wake up!"

"What are you talking about Irma? Oh!" Hay Lin gasped and rubbed her eyes and looked some more. "Oh no!"

"Save it! I'm not here for you, at least not until I need you." She hissed. Then she just smirked. "Do you happen to know where your little friend is? I'm guessing that with the information she just got, she's heading toward her best friends. Too bad she didn't think more of you when she had the chance to give up the Heart without everyone suffering, but I guess she was only thinking of keeping her own power instead of saving her friends. Oh well, I did warn Will."

"Don't listen to her Irma! Hey Taranee! Cornelia! Get up now!" Hay Lin yelled as she climbed down from the bunk bed.

"I'm not." Irma replied without lifting her gaze off of Evil Will. "Why don't you get out of here you big pig! What do you mean you don't need us yet?"

"You'll know soon enough, that's what it means!" she said sharply. "My job here seems to be done." She called out before standing up. Hay Lin grabbed Irma's elbow and tugged at it while glaring angrily at Evil Will. Irma expected her to go off and find Will. She was so angry that they couldn't go out and warn Will. If only their powers were working properly, if those evil nutcases hadn't taken them, they could have busted out of this cell without breaking a sweat. But then, they probably wouldn't even be in this situation in the first place… Evil Will bent back down and Irma was so surprised that her thoughts flew away fairly quickly. The woman smiled and looked at her hand that was glowing with magic. Her gaunt face and black 'Will outfit' could be seen clearly in the light.

"Oh, and this is for the little stunt you tried to pull." She yelled. "This is what real power looks like!" She hurled the blast straight at Irma who felt Hay Lin's arm being pulled away from her. Her head started to hurt, really bad. The only thing that she remembered was a blinding white light.

"Hello? Irma? You still there?"

"I've been trying that for hours but it's still no use."

"She shouldn't have transformed without the Heart of Candracar! Or even have tried to take on Evil Will alone. Believe me, she's too powerful."

"Well, it's her own fault if she always has to be the one to show off."

"Uh, maybe the Heart can help."

Irma felt warmth in her eyes and her head didn't feel so heavy. Her eyes fluttered open and she blinked a few times. Everything started to come into clear focus. Light was pouring through the room from the window that Will's face had occupied lately. It seemed to be in the morning. Will was leaning over her with the Heart of Candracar over her head. Taranee and Hay Lin were on either side of her while Cornelia was sitting on her bed with her arms folded. Irma suddenly started to feel much better.

"I heard that Corny!" Irma retorted as she shook her head from the fuzziness and propped herself on her elbows under the blanket that she guessed they had put on her.

"She lives!" Hay Lin yelled, punching a fist in the air.

"You really had us worried for a while Irma. You hit those bars pretty hard." Taranee breathed with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah you did. How could you be so dumb?" Will asked her with a hint of frustration.

"I've been asking _that_ ever since I've known her."

"Knock if off Cornelia." Will said. "I mean it Irma, what were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"Well, I was thinking of defending myself considering that she was about to attack!" Irma cried angrily while she rubbed her head. She just noticed that Will had a worried tone to her voice. Irma just sighed. "I'm sorry. I just kind of remembered what you said and I thought she was going to…you know. But she was really looking for you."

"Huh?" Will said looking back at Irma. Hay Lin covered her mouth with her hands.

"Oops! Sorry Will! Well, you just got here a little while ago because it's visiting hours and I was too preoccupied making sure that Irma didn't slip into a bad concussion. She's still looking for you isn't she?" Hay Lin asked nervously. She looked back at Will guiltily. Will just gave her a reassuring smile.

"It's okay. I mean if she's here, she's bound to be looking for me anyway. To get the Heart of Candracar really." Will said breezily. Irma, Hay Lin, and Taranee all looked at each other with their eyebrows raised.

"Uh, are you okay Will?" Irma asked. "You seem to finally be taking her lightly."

"Huh, oh yeah, I guess." Will replied absentmindedly. "I was just thinking. I really shouldn't let her get to me as much as I have. She's trying to get the Heart. She wants us gone. Of course she's going to try and mess with my head. How could I have been so stupid! I was just-"

"Frustrated? Felt like everything bad was happening to you? Were sad about your mom dying…" Taranee added helpfully with a small smile. Will barely smiled back.

"Yeah, I guess I was. Everything was happening at one time. There was too much on my mind to think right. I still don't know why it was me-"

"Oh don't start with that again!" Irma exclaimed. She stood up as the blanket fell to the floor and then staggered backward dizzily. Hay Lin looked concerned and looked around past the cell worriedly, but Irma gave her a look that told her that she was alright and then turned back to Will.

"You know why it was given to you, even if it's kind of a burden, right? You've proven it many times, even if your last decision wasn't exactly…great." Irma said jokingly with her big trademark grin. Will's face turned pink and she looked down at her feet, then at Cornelia. Cornelia was just staring off in space, hopelessly lost in thought. Irma rolled her eyes. She couldn't take any of this silence.

"Well, by the waaayyyyy!" Irma yelped. "Ahhhh! What happened to me?"

"Um, you never noticed?" Taranee asked Irma with worry.

"No I didn't notice! I was knocked out cold and just got up! How, why am I still in my Guardian form?" Irma yelled looking down at herself. Hay Lin just started laughing.

"You were sitting there talking and telling off Will, and you never noticed!" Hay Lin squealed. "You seem to be a little too comfortable in your Guardian form huh, Irma?" Irma growled and closed her eyes and felt herself concentrating. Man, she thought to herself. If I ever concentrated like this at school, I would so totally get straight 'A's! Okay, just change back. Let me be myself again. Transform, I need to transform…Irma opened her eyes, looked down and gasped.

"No, no, no! Not again! This can't be happening again!" she whined. Irma bit her lip and looked at the other girls.

"You've got to be kidding me." Will said as her eyes opened wide. "You transformed yourself, and you can't change back-_again!_"

"Wait." Cornelia suddenly blurted out, getting out of her dream state. "This has happened before?"

"Yes it has! Irma, concentrate really hard. It worked after a while last time." Hay Lin told her.

"Yes, but last time, I had some of my powers!" Irma yelled getting frustrated.

"We still do!" Taranee told her. "Come on, try."

Irma closed her eyes and thought of nothing but transforming. Her hands were pushing against her head in pure concentration. There was a difference from last time though. Last time, she felt her magic at least flowing through her fingertips. Right now, she felt nothing.

"Oh! Big headache!" Irma cried. She fell onto the bed beside Cornelia and lied down. Cornelia looked at her with confusement. "It's not going to work you guys." Irma said through her hands covering her pounding head. "There's no magic there to help."

"But-"

"No. She might be right." Will said with a sigh. "Well, something really bad has been happening to each of us, I guess it was Irma's turn."

"But, what if somebody comes in?" Cornelia asked. "I thought that she would be able to change herself back. What about the-"

"Heart, it won't help. Just like last time, we could always transform without it. We just wouldn't have as much power." Will explained. "Go give Irma the blanket again. We can pretend that she is still sleeping if we have any unwanted visitors. Visiting hours are up in around thirty minutes and we have to find some way to get out of here."

Irma just lay there with the blanket on top of her for what seemed like the longest time. Everyone was silent, Irma was pretty sure that they were thinking too. Irma tried to think of a good way to get out of this jail cell, but her mind kept wandering back to her encounter with Evil Will. She said that she didn't need the girls yet. She was looking for Will, for the Heart of Candracar, to stop her from giving out the information…

Irma suddenly sat up bolt right with the blanket falling off her revealing her womanly face. She couldn't believe that she didn't think of it more, and she couldn't believe that Will had forgotten so easily!

"Will! What was the information that you got? Evil Will said that you had something and were probably coming to tell us." Will looked at her confusingly and then her eyes suddenly flashed with surprise and they were twinkling brightly. A small smile started to part her face.

"So, so she thought I had something? So maybe I was right!"

Irma looked at her anxiously. What had she found out?

Alright, part two is up next then!


	24. A Real Tragedy Part Two

Okay, here's part two! Whoa these both took a long time to write. I hope it was worth it.

**Chapter 20: A Real Tragedy Part Two**

Still Irma's POV

"I, I think I'm starting to get what's going on, and how to get out of this mess." Will replied quickly. She closed her eyes and started muttering things under her breath. Irma raised her eyebrows at Will.

"So, are you going to tell us before Evil Will tries to kill us, or are you saving that bit as a surprise?"

"Irma! That's so not funny!" Cornelia yelled. Irma just shrugged and Taranee motioned for Will to continue.

"I remember what we all talked about yesterday." She started. "And I'm starting to think that it's right, it makes perfect sense!"

"And, what exactly is it that we said?" Hay Lin asked her.

"Well, everything. We each brought up good points. So if we are in this, Dream Catcher, what would it mean? Cornelia suggested that it captured dreams. Taranee was thinking that what happened before was real and that we might be in a dream right now. Think of it, we just find out about the Evil Guardians and Phobos, and then we get into the Dream Catcher and we all supposevily wake up and a bunch of bad stuff starts happening to us."

"But like I said before, how do we know if we are dreaming or in a dream right now, or if what happened before we woke up was a dream?" Hay Lin asked confusingly.

"Wait a second!" Taranee yelled getting excited again. "The stuff that happened before the Dream Catcher couldn't have been a dream! We went to Candracar! We learned about the Evil Guardians, Phobos, and about our powers and the universes. We knew that Cornelia and Elyon had been captured by Phobos! We fought the Evil Guardians before they led us into the Dream Catcher! They could have led us into a trap!"

"The nightmare that has already started…you can't escape." Will whispered thoughtfully.

"Hmm…guys. They led us into this dream world where bad things are happening, that's the only thing that makes sense! Come on. Haven't all of you felt frustrated? Hurt? Scared at having…our fears come true?" Will's voice went off and they all looked at each other. Irma started to finally understand where everyone was going with this.

"I was so scared after me being stuck in my Guardian form last time." Irma admitted. "I didn't know what was going on and I didn't like the feeling of having no powers. I was afraid of what might happen and how everybody would react if I had done it again."

"But you did it this time to save us." Taranee said encouragingly. "We wouldn't be mad at you, Irma." Irma just looked down at herself and shrugged again. She then looked up at Hay Lin.

"Well," she started. "After Grandma passed away, I came a little closer to home more. I was trying to cling onto her memories and all the memories and good smells at the Silver Dragon. I kept thinking of how horrible it would be if it was taken away from me…" Hay Lin looked and turned to Cornelia who kept her head down low. Irma wasn't sure that she was going to even talk until she heard a low grumbling noise as Cornelia cleared her throat.

"Well, mine was pretty obvious." She said softly not lifting her head as she spoke. "You all know that…that happening to Caleb is what I was afraid of, and why I did…" she stopped talking and kept staring at her hands which started to shake. Then she just whispered, "It's not easy to lose someone, huh Will?" Irma turned her head to see Will looking up with a frown on her face.

"No, it isn't. I only told Taranee about me being afraid that something might have happened to my mom. And what was worse, it was our Guardian selves that caused it to happen, it was me being too secretive to her that made her follow me. That's why I kept feeling that everything was my fault, along with not following the warnings Evil Will gave me which caused all of this. I know I know!" Will said looking at the girls who were about to start arguing with her. "Ok, I did the right thing then by not giving her the Heart, but what was the price we had to pay?" Everybody turned to Taranee who looked straight at each of the girls.

"I didn't have to suffer something directly frightening like you guys, my fears lately have already mostly happened."

"And?" Irma said mockingly.

"I was afraid that we were going to keep fighting and our powers would get taken away." She told them stonily. "And that has mostly come true." Irma gulped and thought about all the arguing and yelling that had been taking place lately. Irma felt really guilty. So, all of their fears were coming true?

"So, we feel weak and scared from our fears coming true and even more bad stuff happening. Wouldn't that be what Phobos wants, wouldn't that be his plan? It would be just like them to try and make us weak and powerless from this nightmare, a perfect way to get the Heart of Candracar!" Will exclaimed.

A clapping sound was heard from outside the cell. The Guardians all turned around slowly. Evil Will was standing outside of the cell bars clapping unenthusiastically.

"See, I told Phobos that you girls would figure it out. You aren't exactly stupid, especially since I think the same way, our minds work the same way you know. I personally wouldn't waste any time being noble though, such a pitiful character that would make. Well, I think I should tell you girls that visiting hours are over, Will." She said slyly. "I think that it's time you face up to your real fear."

Irma screamed as Will disappeared from her side and appeared in Evil Will's arms. Will looked petrified and was trying to get out of her grasp. Evil Will had a tight hold on Will's hands and smiled. Cornelia had finally gotten up and went beside Irma as she glared angrily at Evil Will. This was about to get very ugly.

"Give me the Heart of Candrcar now!" She said into Will's ear. "Or what happened in your dream will come true. I will kill each of them, one by one!" Evil Will gathered a fistful of magic and sent it shooting towards Cornelia and Hay Lin. They both screamed and ducked right in time as the ball of energy flew past their heads and out of the window.

"NO!" Will yelled. She struggled even more now. "Let me go! Leave them alone!"

Evil Will sent another zap of energy at Irma. She felt it lash her back and there was pain crawling upward toward her head.

"Ah!" gasped Irma as she fell down onto the cell floor, writhing with pain.

"Irma!" Taranee screamed as she bent down to help her fallen friend. Evil Will sent another blast to Cornelia who got grazed in the shoulder. She spun around and fell on the ground behind a bed and out of sight.

"STOP! PLEASE!" Will screamed. Irma moved her head to the side. Taranee's face was near hers and she was saying that she would be all right.

"It's kind of a burn." She whispered. "It will hurt but stay strong Irma, you're the only real Guardian at the moment." She whispered. Irma felt soothed by her words. She was right. She had to stay strong. A Guardian had never quit because of a little pain, and she was not going to be the first one to! Irma took a deep breath and pushed herself off of the ground with excruciating pain coursing through her. It died down though and Irma could breathe normally. It's not that bad, Irma thought. Then she looked back at Evil Will holding a shaking Will. Or, maybe it is.

"Hmm, Taranee right? She was the friend that you felt so confident in that you could tell her about everything, am I right?" Evil Will asked while looking straight at Will. Will started fuming as she tried to get out of Evil Will's clutches. She just laughed.

"No, we can't have that now can we? Since you wouldn't even admit it, I guess she won't ever know that she was your best friend before she dies. Good bye fire Guardian."

"Oh!" Hay Lin yelled. Irma rolled over out of the way as Hay Lin dived for Taranee and they went crashing into the bed.

"Oof!" Went Taranee before she flipped over the bed and landed next to Cornelia. Hay Lin was shaking her head dizzily.

"Hey! You burnt my hair! Oh now you're gonna, ahh!" Hay Lin screamed. Evil Will cast some more magic which sent Hay Lin flying through the air. She crashed into the wall and landed with a small thump.

"Aw, oh." Hay Lin moaned. That was good news for Irma who breathed out deeply again. They had to stop this before one of them really was killed. Eyeing her back Irma squinted her eyes with pain. And there were some near misses.

"Hay Lin!" Will shouted. "Stop it! Now!"

"You know what to do! I could easily have gotten rid of them permanently, and I still can! For the last time, GIVE ME THE HEART OF CANDRACAR!"

Will bit her lip and looked at each of her friends. Cornelia and Taranee were hurt behind the bed, Hay Lin had the wind knocked out of her, and Irma was pained beyond belief.

"Okay, you win." She whispered.

"No!" Irma shouted. "Will you can't!"

"I know Irma." She said sadly. "I have to." Irma shook her head. Did she truly see what she just saw? She could swear that Will had a small smile flicker across her face. She was the leader of the Guardians of the Veil, she wouldn't give up her Heart, and she wouldn't give up on us either, Irma thought. Will said in that look to trust her. They always had. And they always will.

"Well, it looks like somebody has come to her senses." Evil Will said with a grin. "Wait, I know that you really wouldn't give up the Heart."

"Then why do you keep trying? If you really think that trying to kill one of my friends was more important to me, then you're right." Will said angrily. "I just want you to know that I'll be taking it back." She added in the same sly voice. "I am it's keeper after all."

Evil Will relaxed her grip and Will released her hand and let it fly up toward the ceiling. Her hair flew up and her head fell back as the Heart of Candracar rose in her hands.

"At last." Evil Will said eagerly. Her hand reached up to grab the Heart. Everything was still and silent, a hollow feeling spread through Irma's chest.

"Ahh!" Evil Will cried. She was blasted off her feet and landed on the bars.

"Double crosser." She whispered before she fell to the floor and lied still. Will wasted no time at all. Five teardrops were separating in the Heart of Candracar. A fiery orange and earthy green were sent to Cornelia and Taranee beside the bed and started transforming the girls into beautiful Guardians. An airy silver teardrop went over and clouded Hay Lin and a pink one was sent to Will as she curled in her bubble. Irma's eyes were shining when her ocean blue tear came up to her and started swirling around her body. The ache in her back lessened until it was gone. She felt a little more power return to her, but she knew it wasn't enough. She missed having her full powers, she missed having the upper hand in fights instead of being toyed with by fears, but most of all, she missed fighting with her friends. And she truly wanted everyone to know that…

"Come on! We don't have much time before she might wake up!" Will said frantically.

"So, how would we keep her nose out of our business?" Taranee asked looking down at Evil Will disgustedly.

"Let me take care of that." Cornelia said. She closed her eyes and raised her arms before her. Thin ropey vines came out of the ground, but Cornelia staggered backward before they could wrap around Evil Will's body.

"Whoa! I really don't like this." Cornelia whined, rubbing her forehead and scrunching up her eyes.

"We don't have time to worry about that Corny!" Irma cried out. Her and Taranee wrapped and pulled the vines around Evil Will tightly. "Come on!"

"Irma!"

"Stop!" Hay Lin said annoyingly. Will found some keys outside of the cell and unlocked the bar gate. They walked out while dragging Evil Will outside into the sunny day and grassy areas surrounding the parking lots outside the police station of Heatherfield.

"But what will we-oh my!" Taranee said as her voice faltered and her mouth dropped open.

"Who are they?"

"They are strange looking. They're not human!"

"Look! They've got wings! See, see?"

"They look kind of familiar…"

"Oh no." Will whispered with her eyes opened wide. "We've been found out."

"Well they should look familiar! Their names are Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin. You might know them!" Evil Will cried out. Irma made to shut her up if it weren't for the sudden outburst of noise.

"Irma? Not my girl!" her father cried in disbelief.

"That can't be my sister! She's too pretty." Lilian said to the crowd.

"Watch it Lilian!" Cornelia shouted angrily before she could stop herself. The whole crowd gasped and started muttering.

"Good going Cornelia." Irma whispered out of the corner of her mouth. "Just really show that you are her sister."

"It's a habit." Cornelia whispered back. Cornelia sounded scared. You always knew that something really was wrong when Cornelia let her guard down.

"Will?" Matt asked looking baffled.

"Look at them! They have magic! They've used it against me! Do you really want freaks walking among you?" she screamed again.

"Shut up!" Taranee yelled and orange magic tingled between her fingers.

"Ah! Did you see that?"

"They do have magic!"

"Magic is real? That is so totally out there."

"Talk about freaks."

"Freaks, freaks, freaks." A teenage boy started getting the crowd chanting.

"They're witches!"

"No!" Will cried out. "You don't understand! We're not bad!"

"Well, they are always so nice at school." One girl replied.

"They are on the same side as monsters!" Evil Will shouted one more time wriggling in her binds. "They are here to hurt all of you!"

"We've got to protect our families!" and older woman cried out.

"Get them!"

"Run!" Irma cried.

"No!" Hay Lin said. "Fly!" she lifted them up in the air and they were moved far away from the crowd. They landed near some trees and only breathed when they were completely covered.

"Change us back Will!" Cornelia shouted.

"I'm going!" she said shakenly. She closed her fist and then opened it again with the Heart of Candracar floating above her palm. Irma was really scared.

"Great! Can anything worse happen? All because of Evil Will!" she yelled.

"Actually, you have made it that way yourself." The girls snapped their bodies around where a wolf-like woman was standing before them.

"Wait." Hay Lin said. "We know you, you are from Candracar right?"

"Yes, and I have come to Heatherfield to take your powers away." Everyone was silent.

"Wh, what?" Irma said baffled.

"You heard me Guardian. You have abused your powers. You have let an entire city know your identities. You foolish girls were the ones who kept fighting and arguing with each other until you lost your powers to the Evil Guardians. Then they went and released Cedric and Phobos. No more, the council can't deal with anymore mistakes. I am so sorry. You are not the Guardians of the Veil anymore."

Irma was shocked. She didn't look sad at all. In fact, she looked positively delighted. They had just gotten their powers! They couldn't lose them! Not after all they had been through, what about all the good they had done? It was a part of them now, she couldn't take away Irma's water! Irma was sure that the other girls were feeling the same way about fire, earth, air, and the Heart of Candracar. To take them away would be like taking away their souls. They couldn't let that happen! But if the Oracle had chosen it, what could they do...

"For months, we have delt with your nonsense, and now, you girls won't be a problem anymore. Now Will, it's time to give up the Heart of Candracar."

"But-uhh!" Will cried. Luba forced her to her knees and a brilliant pink light was vibrating all around them. Will's arm was out with the Heart still floating above it. The Heart was moving slowly toward Luba's hand.

"Wait! Ow! Stop!" Will pleaded. Her eyes were scrunched up in pain as the Heart moved away from her. Will started screaming with pain.

"Will!" Taranee screamed. The Heart shot into Luba's hand and Will fell to the ground. Irma ran with the others to Will's side and tried to wake her up.

"Come on!" Cornelia yelled. "Don't do this to us Will!" Luba was staring at her hand with amazement and admiration. Irma didn't care, as long as Will was-

"Oh!" Will cried out in pain. She opened her eyes and Hay Lin lifted her head into her lap. "It hurts! Ah!"

Irma spun around on her knees to see Luba smiling with a huge smile. What is she doing, Irma asked herself with confusement. But what is she-

Irma gasped with rage and surprise. Everyone else did the same.

"No!" Will croaked. She started to get up before falling back down. "No! Don't let her!"

They were all looking up at Evil Will's face. Luba's body was shimmering away to be replaced with her regular black tights, skirt, and bell-sleeved midriff bearing top. She had the biggest, most evil smile on her face that Irma had ever seen. And she was holding the Heart of Candracar.

"At last, after all these years, after these past few months of planning it, I've got it! I have the Heart of Candracar!" she screamed. She looked down at the girls who were trying to help Will up. Will was glaring at her.

"You don't have it! You can't! I will get it back." she muttered loudly.

"Well I hope you liked that little magic trick I just pulled. Now if you don't mind, I have a universe to rule!" she yelled. "With my ultimate power!" she raised the Heart of Candracar in her hand and felt a rush of magic. She kept swirling around until she was about to be gone.

"No!" Will screamed she started running weakly up to her.

"Good bye Guardians." And with that, she was gone.

Irma didn't feel her power within her anymore.

They were stuck here, without a way out.

The emptiness was spreading through each of them, they felt numb with shock and weakness.

They had lost.

The Heart of Candracar was gone.

Go ahead and get mad at me! Try not to get mad at what I wrote, but about me probably not being able to update for around a week. I would really like reviews after all I just went through! That was one biggie to write! See ya til next time!


	25. Is This the End of the Line?

Hey! Well, my first days of school haven't been too bad. A little too many rules this year, and strict ones at that. I already know that 8th grade won't be easy...ok. There is a song that some might recognize from the movie,'The Cheetah Girls' and it's called, 'Is This the End of the Line', which you mightnotice is the title for this chapter. I credit the two guys who wrote it, but I don't have my notebook with me right now so forgive me for not doing so.Just like I said, this chap has come on Wednesday! Yay! Here's chapter 21, enjoy!

**Chapter 21: Is This the End of the Line?**

Cornelia's POV 

_**Will we be friends, when we grow old?**_

_**Or is this the end of the line?**_

Cornelia could barely breathe. Everything had been taken from her. Caleb was gone, her powers were gone, and now, the Heart of Candracar was gone. She looked over each of the Guardians sitting down and knew that they were occupied with the same feelings that had been pouring through her own heart. Hurt, betrayal, fear, weakness. Loneliness? Cornelia wanted to cry out loud! The last of their power had been stolen from them the moment that Evil Will had stolen the Heart of Candracar. There were so many feelings of loss in her soul. She was sure that Will's heart wasn't the only one broken. Cornelia was sure that hers had split in two as well. What would happen now? Would they be stuck here? Was there some way to ease this pain?

Did she still have her friends?

_**I hurt with you, I love with you. **_

_**The world just seems to get in our way.**_

_**Is this the end of the line?**_

Cornelia hadn't been this close to her friends for a long time. And yet, they felt so far away. What had they done? What had she done?

Will was still shaking. The Heart had been taken from her. And it took a part of her body with it. It had taken a part of each of them with it. Cornelia longed to feel the earth and smell the flowers and the trees. She once felt like it was a part of her. Now, it was gone. Will stood up and just started walking. The others did the same. Cornelia had been wanting to be alone lately. She had isolated herself from her destiny and from her friends. Why did she feel all that hurt and anger? Why did she push them away? And why was she feeling differently now when each girl got up and walked silently down her own path, thinking, wondering…

_**Oh please don't leave me.**_

_**Don't let your heart let go.**_

_**We'll find a way.**_

_**The journey has only begun**_

_**Is this the end of the line?**_

She had been so confused lately. Everything in her life was going wrong! She had just wanted to be an average teenager who went to the Sheffield Institute. She had wanted to be with her best friends and keep it the way it used to be before Meridian and Prince Phobos, the Heart of Candracar and a magical destiny came into her life. Maybe then she wouldn't feel so heart broken and defeated. Things would be simpler.

_**Na na na na, na na na na. Na na na, na na.**_

But she knew that she was a Guardian of the Veil deep inside. She could never let that go. No matter what happened to Caleb. No matter what happened to their powers.

_**Oh baby, oh.**_

_**Is this the end of the line?**_

Why couldn't she ever have admitted that she was wrong? There were plenty of opportunities while in this nightmare. Cornelia couldn't help thinking that a lot of it was her fault. If she hadn't left, they would still be together. They would still have their powers. None of this would have happened. Elyon wouldn't be captured, Phobos wouldn't have been broken free, and Evil Will wouldn't have gotten the Heart of Candracar…

Cornelia felt anger in her stomach. They could have told me, she thought angrily in her head. They didn't help much either. They fought and argued too. Cornelia huffed with satisfaction. But she still felt guilt lining her insides sourly. She was tired of blaming everyone else. After what had just happened, Cornelia realized something. She had no one to blame but herself.

Cornelia looked on ahead at the four girls walking off a little ways from each other. It didn't matter whose fault it was. The question was-_what were they going to do about it?_ Cornelia jumped up. She had never felt so confused or hurt in her life, but everything that had just happened, everything that was happening was pushed aside in her mind. Nothing else mattered. She could make it right, they all would.

She started running. Cornelia was sure like nothing besides this was certain. She knew it was right even when everything else was wrong, even when her and her friends were wrong.

_**If you leave, I'll follow.**_

_**Don't let your heart let go.**_

_**We'll find a way.**_

_**The journey has only begun**_

_**Is this the end of the line?**_

No matter how badly she had treated them. No matter how badly they had treated each other. They needed to pull through this, they had to! After all that they had gone through together…Cornelia knew that she needed them. She had missed them. Cornelia was heading to her friends.

Because that's what they were.

Her friends.

And the Guardians of the Veil.

The other girls heard her footsteps. They looked back from all around her. Cornelia stopped. They all stopped. Feelings were more moving than words, but that's what she needed right now. Words. Cornelia wasn't sure that she could do it, she wasn't sure that she had ever done it before. They all stared for the longest time, but nothing came out. The girls slowly turned their backs. They started walking. Cornelia's heart stopped.

_**Is this the end of the line?**_

"I'M SORRY!" she shouted.

She had done it.

"What did you just say, Corny?" Irma asked in an astonished voice. The other girls spun around and were staring at her with amazement. Cornelia took a deep breath. It had been really hard to say, but she knew that it came from her heart.

"I'm sorry, for everything. I shouldn't have left you when Caleb got turned into a flower." Cornelia started to feel the tears well up in her eyes as she reminded herself of what she had lost. She had to stay strong. It was what Caleb would want her to do.

"I should have thought of you guys instead of being rude to you. I was going through a hard time. I didn't want anybody else. I was wrong."

"Wow! Is it too late to re-shoot that Corny? I'd love to go home and get my camera." Irma said. Cornelia glared at her. Irma's smile tilted downward slowly.

"I'm sorry too." Irma admitted. "I shouldn't have been so careless when I transformed into my Guardian form the first time. And I guess I was too hard on you Cornelia."

Cornelia was now the one astonished. The two people least likely to apologize to each other had done it. Her and Irma have said something to each other that bonded them quicker than yelling and silly nicknames: an apology.

All of them started moving back towards her slowly. Cornelia was feeling all of the emotion stir in her. She had never felt so sorry and so grateful in her entire life.

"I'm sorry, that we have been so stupid." Hay Lin said. "We threw away our friendship, which was the key to our powers. If we had stuck together, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"I'm sorry for arguing." Taranee said softly. "For all of us. I remember how strong we were together, before we started fighting." They all walked into a circle and looked at each other.

"And I'm sorry." Will started. "For leading us into this place. Either way, the Heart of Candracar is gone." Will winced painfully and Cornelia felt so sorry for her. She felt sorry for everyone and the situation they had gotten themselves in.

"Is there any other way to get out of here?" Taranee asked quietly. "I can't believe that we could have used the Heart of Candracar to go back!"

"But we didn't know!" Hay Lin squeaked. "At least not until it was too late." Cornelia started thinking about their time in that cell. They had talked things over and learned a lot. Her thoughts wandered to the Whispers and Serenity. There has to be some way! Please, she thought desperately. Please, help! Now would be a really good time to help.

A sudden wind blew all around them. It whistled sharply in Cornelia's ear, it lifted up her purple Guardian skirt above her ankles and made her silky, long hair blow everywhere at the force of the air billowing around them.

"They're here again." Hay Lin said.

("Your Heart is gone.")

("Don't let it stop you.")

("Too many have suffered.")

("Too many will soon be gone.")

"But how do we get out of here?" Will called out into the wind. "There must be a way!"

("There are only two known ways to get out alive.")

("Use the Heart of Candracar.")

("Or have someone kill you.")

("I killed myself, I died.")

"Those can't be the only ways!" Cornelia yelled. "We're going to be stuck here!"

("I'm sorry Guardians.")

("We can't help you anymore.")

("…fight, …heart…")

("Friendship…")

The wind died down too quickly. Something was wrong. The Whispers couldn't even finish giving their encouragement. Cornelia started to feel that all was lost. She shook her head. There must be a way!

"So." Taranee stuttered. "The only other way to get out besides the Heart of Candracar is to, _kill someone?_" There was a very long moment of silence after this statement.

"Okay, so, who wants to go first?" Irma asked. It seemed that she had tried to make a joke, but then was half-heartened. They each looked at each other. It was a real creepy feeling…

"No." Will said firmly. "Friends wouldn't do that. We couldn't. Cornelia's right, there just has to be another way."

Cornelia stared at them hopefully.

"Does that mean that we're friends?" Cornelia asked.

Will smiled back at her.

"Of course."

Cornelia could feel a powerful feeling returning to her again. She loved this feeling. Power, love, friendship…

Will held her hand out in front of her. She had a determined look on her face and was smiling, even if it was hard with the Heart gone from her. Cornelia even smiled back.

"I will get the Heart of Candracar back." She said. The rest of the Guardians grinned too.

"We have faced our fears and figured out what's more important." Hay Lin said. She put her hand on top of Will's.

"We are the Guardians of the Veil!" Irma declared, placing her hand on Hay Lin's.

"We are best friends, and we will never be divided again." Taranee placed her hand on Irma's and looked at Cornelia. All the confusion and fear in her life seemed to evaporate in the instant that she looked back. Cornelia still didn't like what she had done before, all of the dumb stuff. This wasn't the end of the line. They had forgiven her. They were her bestfriends.

"Never." Cornelia confirmed. She placed her hand at the very top of her friends'.

A sudden burst of power flew through her body. She felt more alive than she ever had been. Shapes were flying around them in a circle of dizziness. Their hands were stuck together, they couldn't move.

"Hang on!" Will cried. Not that they really had a choice. A strong force was pulling on them, it was keeping them together. Colors were flashing in her eyes. Cornelia saw sparks of pink, blue, orange, green, and silver swirling around them. She felt her feet leave the ground. A rush of power and a clear head was making her happy! She didn't know where they were going. Were they getting out of here? It doesn't matter what's happening, Cornelia thought as she spun around and around. As long as we're going to be together, we can pull through any challenge that faces us! The Evil Guardians and Phobos better be prepared. They weren't going to give up! They had their powers, and they had their friendship!

They were the Guardians of the Veil!

Whew! I'm not sure if that was a corny apology or chapter, and if it was, oh well. By the time the next chapter comes. It won't really matter. Yep! They have their friendship and full powers back again! All in one chapter too.(Like I said, probably corny.)I told you that it would get better! When I was planning this, I kept thinking of that song and I thought it fit perfectly after the Heart and their powers were gone. Wahoo! Now we all get to see the finale of the first season of W.i.t.c.h. tonight! Okay, review please and I'll get the next chapter up soon!


	26. A Collision of Chaos

Okay, my Internet isn't working right now so I decided to write both of the chapters for my stories. I am fully finished planning the chapters for both of my stories, but I still need to find the time and sit at the computer and type the chapters while I improvise. This is going to be the longest chapter yet, but that's probably because I don't really feel like braking this one into two parts. I already have four chapters with two parts and I think people can deal with the fact about a longer chap to enjoy. I'll tell you now that I've always been this way. I keep writing and writing and I can't stop. You might find that this chapter is very much action based. It's about time I can write one considering that you guys (and me) are tired of all the conversations. They've figured everything out now! Their powers are back and so is their friendship. I hope you guys remembered something important about powers from chapter 10, A Path to Understanding. If you didn't it's okay because you'll find out what happens if you read what happens next!

**Chapter 22: A Collision of Chaos**

Elyon's POV

"No." Elyon whispered. She still couldn't believe it! How could she have taken the Heart of Candracar?

"Face it Elyon! Your friends don't have their powers anymore! Evil Will has the Heart! We will go back in and take the crown away forcefully if that's what you want!" Phobos yelled. He stormed back over to her and Elyon leaned back in disgust.

"Tell me. Does the earth Guardian have the Crown of Light?"

Elyon didn't know how to answer. If she said yes, they would go to her and take it away and even try to hurt her! If she said she didn't know what they were talking about, they would take that as a yes and go and do the same thing. But what if she said no…

"Well!" Phobos demanded. Elyon turned back to him.

"No." Elyon answered definitely. Phobos was in an angry rage.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Phobos yelled.

"I mean that she doesn't have it." Elyon said without any emotion in her voice. Not even the pounding fear that felt like it was going to burst from her chest was detected in the sound coming out of her mouth. Phobos turned around and faced Evil Will. She smiled and nodded.

"I'll take care of it."

Evil Will was standing before her and Elyon gazed reproachfully back at her face.

"So, I bet you're wondering how I got the Heart." She said sarcastically.

"Not really, considering I know that you went to a low level to steal it." Elyon replied. To tell the truth, she really did want to know. She wanted to know what had happened to her friends. What was happening to them now?

"It was pretty easy, although your friends did give me a hard time in that cell." She rubbed a spot on her back carefully and Elyon had a small smile that said 'she deserved it.'

"Disguising myself as Luba, from the Council of Candracar was easy. She never liked the Guardians to begin with. Will had the Heart out and I got it away from her. Just like I said earlier," Evil Will said with a nasty smile. "Weakness. Of course, they're all weak now. I'd feel pretty cruddy myself, being powerless. Aw, too bad for the ex-Guardians of the Veil!" Elyon's head snapped to focus on her face.

"What do you mean _ex-_Guardians? Just because the Heart is gone doesn't mean-"

"Doesn't it though?" Evil Will told her casually. "They pretty much handed their powers on a silver platter to us. They didn't act like the Guardians, so the powers they were losing slowly crept to us. We got stronger and they had little powers. Do you possibly think that there can be any power left in them after the Heart of Candracar became mine? Now, all is lost. Just tell us where the crown is and we may not have to do anything to you."

"Please." Elyon said rolling her eyes. "Like Phobos isn't going to try and take my powers the moment he gets his hands on it anyway." She stared at the woman glaring back at Elyon with hate. Elyon felt the same way. She hated them for making all of them suffer through this.

"Nobody is powerless." Elyon told her. "Power is a matter of faith. Even at our weakest and most desperate times of our lives, it can be found deep within one's self. You just have to trust in it, and in your friends." Evil Will rolled her eyes too and just laughed.

"If you don't want to give up the Crown of Light, it's going to be your funeral. You need to grow up little Elyon. Power is about who is the quickest, smartest, and strongest. The one who gets it all is the most powerful! And that person is me!"

"Wrong again Evil Will." Elyon felt something strange. Something was happening. Automatically, Elyon and everyone else lifted their gaze up to each Guardian floating in the purple auras, the midst of the Dream Catcher and evil itself. The mist and the girls had started dissolving.

"No! How can it-" Phobos stuttered.

"What's happening?" Evil Irma cried out. The castle floor was shaking and rocking back and forth. Tables and vases crashed to the floor and everybody grabbed something to keep their balance. The floor trembled ever more as a crack of white light zig-zagged through it. Everyone shielded their eyes from the blinding light. Elyon saw many colors dance past her eyes. Elyon was hopeful. It had happened before, maybe they had done it again. Elyon squinted her eyes to see past the colorful lights flashing everywhere like some firework show. Something was spinning in the middle of the room. It got larger and larger until it exploaded. The light only dimmed down enough for Elyon to see five girls landing lightly on the castle floor.

"That's not possible!" Evil Will screeched. Elyon smiled. Oh, but it was. Elyon could soon make out her friends' beautiful Guardian outfits and the determined looks on their faces. Elyon was so happy! They had done it! But how did they do it? It doesn't matter right now, Elyon told herself. As long as they're here, they can get me out of here for us to beat evil, because that's just the way they rolled.

"No! It can't be! It isn't possible! You could only get out with the Heart of Candracar!" Phobos screamed. Will looked his way and stepped out of the light which after the Guardians' dramatic entrance, was starting to fade away back into the dark and gloomy castle. The other girls did the same.

"We're the Guardians of the Veil. What part of that do you still not get?" Will said with a smile.

"Yeah! What she said!" Irma retorted with her hands on her hips. "Anything's possible with us so buddy, you better believe it!"

"Elyon!" Cornelia yelled as she spotted Elyon smiling in her prison. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Cornelia!" Elyon yelled. "But could you please get me out of here so that we can destroy these guys already?"

"I'm down with that." Taranee said as she geared up a large fireball and aimed it at Elyon's cage. Elyon recoiled for fear that the fire would burn her, but it moved quickly up the cage and melted it. Elyon didn't have quite as graceful of a landing than the Guardians did, but she stood up and shook it off. Phobos and the Evil Guardians were still staring anstonishly at them. They still couldn't believe they had gotten out of their fears.

"Well it took you guys long enough." Elyon joked as she moved toward her friends.

"Oh give us a break Elyon. I'm so happy we're free!" Hay Lin exclaimed. Elyon's spirits rose. Everything was like it used to be. They were all friends again! She gazed approvingly at them and then turned to look at her brother who shook his head but then got in a calm stance. Yep, everything was like it used to be, Elyon thought drily. Which means that it's about time to battle these guys and win. It was for Meridian, Earth, and Candracar. Phobos said that it was like a puzzle, a game. Well this game wasn't over yet!

Cedric suddenly came slithering in and stopped dead in his tracks and his mouth dropped.

"Sire, how did they? They can't have."

"Oh, so nice to see you Cedric." Cornelia said stiffly. "Did you think it was fun to kill Caleb, burn Hay Lin's home, and get Taranee and Hay Lin put in jail for a murder they did not commit?" Cedric started squirming. Taranee rolled her eyes at his pathetic gestures.

"Well, my mom is a judge. I can always tell when somebody is guilty!" Taranee yelled.

"There always has to be a punishment for your crimes." Hay Lin said. She started to look thoughtful. "Hmm, how about a fiery tornado?" She looked at Taranee and they reered back with their hands together. Before letting go, Taranee looked at Hay Lin with her eyebrows raised.

"A fiery tornado?"

"What? I can't help it if I'm creative." They pushed the magic forward and a tornado of fire started spinning toward Cedric.

"No!" he yelled. It caught up with him and he started spinning around and around until it shot him out with burns all over his body. He hit the castle wall and slid down without a sound.

"All right Hay Lin and Taranee!" Irma cheered. "Let's say we beat these suckers down till they cry!" Elyon smiled at Irma's usual quips. She had something else that she had to do first though.

"Cornelia." Elyon started as she moved toward her friend. "Before Phobos put you into the Dream Catcher, I slipped something to you. You have the Crown of Light."

"I knew it!" Phobos yelled. He shot out his hand and white magic beams hit Cornelia squarely in her chest. She fell back as Phobos advanced on her with his arms outstretched. Slowly and surely, something began to come out of Cornelia. She gasped when it flew out of her and high into the air.

"No!" Elyon cried.

"Hurry everybody!" Will said. "Get the crown!"

"Oh no you don't!" Evil Taranee yelled. The Evil Guardians' hands were crackling with power. The Guardians stood their ground and took a fighting stance. The Crown of Light started slowly falling back down.

"The Crown is mine!" Phobos yelled as he ran forward.

"No it isn't!" Elyon shouted as she ran forward to grab the Crown too.

"Get out of my way Sister!" Phobos spat. One arm was in the air and he brought down the other and was about to shoot an attack. Elyon knew that she was going to be too quick for him.

"Not on your life, Phobos!" She raised her hand up too and glanced quickly at Will right by her who started bringing up her pink magic.

"Now!" Will shouted. Everything seemed in slow motion to Elyon. Were they all going in slow motion? The Evil Guardians' attacks passed into the air at the same rate that the Guardians' did. The same thing was happening to Phobos's and her magic. All of their magic, their attacks against each other were all going to meet and hit together!

The problem was, the Crown of Light was right in the middle of the impact.

Ka-boom!

A huge explosion came from the middle of the magic and shook the castle even more than before. Elyon felt her feet leave the ground and she screamed as she was knocked backward by the force of the magical eruption. She fell hard on her back. Everything hurt. Her head, her body, but mostly, her heart. She didn't want to see it, but she had to know if it did happen. It hurt to breathe, but she couldn't even catch her breath. She suddenly felt very tired and weak, especially when she turned onto her side and looked on with a sickening feeling in her stomach.

The Crown of Light, her crown as the Light of Meridian, was lying down in three broken pieces, scattered on the floor.

"No." Elyon whispered. "It can't have. No." Elyon felt like crying. She had lost something that was a part of her. Maybe this is how Will felt after the Heart of Candracar was stolen. The Crown and Elyon had been connected, and now it was broken.

Like their powers.

The Guardians, the Evil Guardians, Phobos, and Elyon all slowly struggled to get up. Everybody looked breathless. Nobody looked as they had a minute earlier. Each one of them looked in bad shape, and that was just the beginning of it. Elyon felt weak and powerless…she was sure that some felt the same way…

"So," Evil Will breathed. "Our battle has come at last. You want to fight and win the Heart of Candracar back, then try and beat us! We'll see who the most powerful Guardians really are!" Will turned around to face her. She stared at her face for a moment before voicing her opinion.

"Let's see how quick it is for us to win!" Will yelled definitely. Evil Will raised her arms and sent them flying forward. Elyon inhaled a sharp breath as she prepared for the attack to go coming at Will.

But, there was nothing.

"Huh?" Evil Will said as she looked at her hands in confusement. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, I think I can help with that!" Will said angrily. She threw an energy blast and it hit Evil Will and sent her flying backwards until she fell down to the floor in a painful position on her side.

"Hmm, it looks like the _real_ Guardians have more power after all." Will said leaning over her.

"Speak for yourself Will!" Irma yelled. Evil Irma was shooting water out of her hands that sent Irma flying at the top of a geyser of water, 9 feet in the air.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Irma yelled. "The water won't listen to me!"

"Earth won't either!" Cornelia shouted as she gave up on moving the earth to run away from the huge vines that Evil Cornelia had sprung to life and was trying to maneuver to chase Cornelia.

"Something is very wrong!" Taranee shouted as she sent fiery darts to Evil Taranee who started screaming in agony. "Only some of us have powers!"

Hay Lin flew around in the air and blew her Evil self around dizzily.

"I thought we were more powerful than them Will!" Evil Hay Lin shouted to her leader. "What's happening?"

"I don't know!" Evil Will growled angrily as she kicked Will and knocked her off of her feet. Will ducked from Evil Will's next blow and punched her in the side of her head.

Elyon gulped. She was barely aware of her brother moving ever slowly closer to her. She whipped her body around and waved her magic to direct it to the man in front of her.

But none came.

Elyon gasped with shock when a painful jolt went through her body and shook her. She forced her brain to remain focus, but anger clouded her mind when she could hear Phobos cackling.

"Nice try Elyon." He laughed. "But it looks like I have the upper hand here." He tried to send another attack at her, but Elyon jumped out of the way and tried to use her power again. She thought really hard, and concentrated all of her emotion and energy into pure power. But still, nothing came out.

Where were her powers? Elyon started to get frantic at the thought of being defenseless and weak while facing her brother. She kept trying to dodge out of his sight and she finally sat behind an overturned table while out of breath. Elyon peaked around the corner to see what was happening in the rest of the battle.

Hay Lin was flying around the castle sending gusts of wind at Evil Hay Lin who would try to jump up and grab her but then get dizzy from spinning around in circles.

"He, he!" Hay Lin giggled. "Dizzy yet? Maybe I should just fly higher."

Cornelia was jumping out of the reach of the earthly vines that were coming in all directions and intending on wrapping around her body. She spun around to dodge one, but only to be faced with four more heading her way. She grabbed them in her hands and tied them into a knot with a grin.

"Try to get them out of that!" She called out. "Ah!" More vines came from the side and Cornelia did a cartwheel and started running again to avoid their reach.

"Take that fire Guardian!" Evil Taranee shouted with glee. Taranee stood there surprised but then grinned with relief.

"It looks like your powers aren't working as you had hoped, are they?" Evil Taranee stomped her feet in frustration, but then gulped when she noticed a huge fireball coming her way.

"Let me go!" Irma screamed from the top of the geyser that Evil Irma was holding her on top of. Irma's legs were flailing and she started waving her arms around as she tried to get away from the water. Evil Irma shrugged her shoulders simply.

"As you wish." Evil Irma dropped her arms down and Irma went sliding down fast as the water twisted and turned dangerously.

"Help!"

Evil Will and Will were moving around fast. They showed much anger as Will shot magic at her and Evil Will quickly dodged it.

"You're not bad, but you don't know how to use your powers!" Evil Will said as she started breathing heavily. "I can show you. Using them for good is pointless, especially since I have the Heart now! Your Earth shall be mine!"

"Shut up!" Will screamed. She hurled another energy blast at her and Evil Will screamed in pain.

Elyon stopped looking at her friends. She couldn't see Phobos searching for her anymore. And she had the feeling that he was-

"Hiding Elyon?" Phobos asked. Elyon shivered and faced her brother while still on her knees. He continued to stare at her with his playful eyes.

"Since the Crown of Light is gone, we have an equal fight dear sister. Well, it's not exactly my fault that your powers aren't working. Oh, well too bad for you. Good bye Elyon.

Elyon stared at him with disbelief and then froze. She could barely move her eyes. Everyone else seemed frozen in mid battle too. An unbalancing wave of electricity passed over everyone. Elyon saw a white bubble, sparkling with magic come out of Phobos and started to come towards her. Elyon could barely see the same thing happening to the other ten girls out of her peripheral vision.

A sliver magical bubble came out of Hay Lin and was moving downward toward Evil Hay Lin. A green one moved from Evil Cornelia to Cornelia. Another one that was orange moved from Taranee to Evil Taranee. The blue bubble was taken out of Evil Irma and placed inside Irma who was frozen in midair while she was falling. The last pink bubble popped out of Will and transferred itself to Evil Will. Everything went in slow motion again until Elyon could fully blink her eyes and-

"Ah!" Phobos cried with his eyes wide open. "What just happened? I feel-"

"Weak?" Elyon proudly finished for him. Her strength lessened as she started to feel so as well. She looked at her hands which started sparkling with magic. It was dimmed though and her skin started to look pale. If she had her powers back inside her body, why was she feeling this way?

"Ahhhh!" Hay Lin screamed as she started falling fast to the ground. She tried to use her wings, but it did no use against the force of her fall.

"Yes!" Irma declared. She pushed water out of her hands to keep herself up and stop falling. She landed gently on the ground while Hay Lin crashed on her feet. She fell over and hit the floor.

"Ow! My ankle." Hay Lin moaned. "I think it's broken."

"Well, we wouldn't want to do anything to hurt it more now would we?" Evil Hay Lin said. She whipped up a tornado and started to spin Hay Lin around. She screamed and landed on her backside after being thrown out.

"Ow, this hurts! You idiot! You're not supposed to move people when they're injured!" Hay Lin yelled.

"Oops!" Evil Hay Lin replied as she put up her arms sarcastically. "Sorry."

"Now, it's payback time!" Cornelia shouted. Her and Irma moved together as their evil twins started backing away from them frighteningly.

"Evil Taranee balled up both of her fists that filled with a blazing fire and started slashing at Taranee who kept jumping backward to avoid her thrashing arms.

"Actually Taranee." Evil Taranee started. She finally slashed her across the cheek and Taranee fell back. "They are working exactly how I had hoped."

Elyon turned away from looking at her friends and her captors again to face Phobos. He was still trying to get the magic out of him. And it doesn't seem to be working, Elyon thought with a small smile. She raised her arms in front of her. It's a good thing that mine are working perfectly!

"You deserve this Phobos!" She yelled. Magic slithered from her hands and coiled around Phobos. Another blast came toward him and surrounded him with nothing but pain.

Evil Irma kicked Irma in the stomach and Irma retaliated with a gush of water that knocked her off of her feet.

Taranee grabbed Evil Taranee's wrists and twisted her around and flung her across the room.

Cornelia made the vines crowding a section of the floor trip Evil Cornelia. She tumbled on the floor as a cover up and kicked Cornelia's feet from the ground.

Will slapped Evil Will angrily and started in with a punch when Evil Will grabbed her fist and pushed her back with excruciating force. Will fell on her back and turned quickly to the side when Evil Will's foot started to come down on her. Her foot hit the ground too hard and she fell off balance.

Elyon released Phobos. He started to take deep breaths of pain and spat out some blood. He looked up angrily at Elyon who didn't even flinch. Phobos got up and started running at Elyon. He tried to grab her neck, but she easily blocked him and sent him flying away from her from her power.

Elyon stumbled. She started to feel sick. All she wanted to do was fall on the floor and rest. There was a pounding in her head and she was feeling very dizzy. Elyon fell to her knees and looked around at everyone else. Hay Lin was lying down and rubbing her ankle with a pained expression while Evil Hay Lin leaned against the wall, out of breath. Cornelia still sat on the vines from where she had been tripped and Evil Cornelia was moving very slowly on her hands and knees. Evil Taranee lay motionless on the other side of the room while Taranee fell to her knees like Elyon had and then fell to the floor on her side. Will and Evil Will were lazily punching each other. They looked in bad shape, as did everyone else. Irma started huffing with her evil self beside her. They both looked very sick and weak.

"Is it, okay? To, take a brake, from fighting for our lives?" Irma huffed. She fell down as did Evil Irma.

"Don't stop." Will ordered weakly. "They'll keep the Heart of Candracar and destroy Earth while killing everyone."

"Wake up Will!" Cornelia moaned. "We're the ones dying."

Elyon did feel weird. She didn't have the will to move. Not to use her powers…or even to live.

We are dying, Elyon thought frantically. She tried to move something but it was like trying to lift a house. Elyon blinked her foggy eyes and thought again. Something bad has happened, something that wasn't supposed to be. Everything seemed so unbalanced. Everything seemed so weak. Everything seemed so dark…

"I will not die!" Evil Will suddenly burst out. She held up her hand and a burst of pink light came up from it. The Heart of Candracar was floating above her palm.

"Give it, to me." Will said through gritted teeth.

"As if!" Evil Will told her. "Wait! Hey!"

Elyon lifted her head up and her eyes were filled with a sudden light. It wasn't 'the light' she had always pictured when you died. It was a bright, brilliant pink light that shown through her eyelids. She felt a little bit of warmth and hope spread through her body. She had strength enough to open her eyes and tilt her head upward.

"Will!" Elyon said with an amazed expression. The Heart of Candracar had lifted both Will and Evil Will into the air and bathed by its glorified magic. They both looked down. They had no clue to what was going on. Neither did anybody else as each person, weak on the floor, looked up with their mouths slowly opening.

The Heart of Candracar seemed to know what it was doing. It had made plans and was trying to decide on where to go. It spun around both of the girls' heads and flew even higher into the air where it showered the room with light. Evil Will and Will looked at each other with newly found strength. Both of their hands lit up with magical energy. Elyon could feel it in the air. But she just started to feel weaker…

They were all getting weaker, perhaps except the two Wills. Everything had been so bad, and when their first sign of hope came, their powers had messed up by switching from each body to the other. Now, they wouldn't survive without hope, without friendship, and without faith. The Heart of Candracar hung still in the air as a challenge, twinkling with powerful steadiness.

"Ready?" Evil Will asked with her eyebrows raised. Will narrowed her eyes with determination.

"Bring it on."

This is the true battle for Meridian,

Candracar,

Earth,

And their lives.

The battle for power,

Peace,

And friendship.

This is the battle for the Heart of Candracar.

Will and Evil Will both raise their arms to fight.

It has begun.

Whew! Now that was a chapter to write! That was the most fun that I have had writing this story! I think the longest too…dang! 11 pages on word with size 12 letters! OMG! I do write too much! Actually, go back and read what Yan Lin said in chapter 10 if you didn't understand what was happening with all of the powers switching, etc. Sorry for the cliffhanger too, but I'll maybe get to post another chapter either this weekend or next weekend. Well, I have this weekend to catch up on make up work for missing three days of school. I'm feeling better, but that might not be a good thing because I can't sit home and write, huh? ;) I had to take this to my dad's house and post it because the Internet is still not fixed at my mom's. It turns out that the dog chewed the cord again. starts pouting and muttering under breath I'll see you next time, and I would love reviews! I'm not totally well even if I'm going back to school tomorrow so they'll encourage me to write more and help me feel better:D I'll get the next chap up as soon as I can, no angry mobs on me please.


	27. True to Your Heart

1Hello all! I'm back with the next chapter! I've been waiting to write this one, and I hope some have been waiting to read it. This story is almost over, and I'm sad to know that. I hope that it will all end well and that everybody will be satisfied from a good story, because that's what I want. I'll keep writing after this story like with 'Through Different Worlds' and when that one is over, it's sequel, P.O.W.E.R. Thanks again sooooooo much for all the reviewers who have sent me reviews because that has been what's keeping me going with the inspiration for my story. My birthday was the day before yesterday and I thanked all of my reviewers for my stories personally with extra chocolate added to the cake and ice cream everybody got! Yay! Now, one of the moments you have been waiting for…

**Chapter 23: True to Your Heart**

'_Stay true to your goals, stay true to your friends, but most of all, stay true to your heart.' _

Will's POV

Will looked at the person in front of her without blinking or moving an inch. She just stared, with her fists glowing with energy and emotions stirring endlessly through her body. It was like looking in a mirror, except that Will didn't see her own brown eyes, red hair, and green mini skirt with her purple bell-sleeved top and flowery wings. No. The woman standing before her was wearing the same outfit but black and with no wings. Her hair was faint and straggly while her eyes were barely brown at all. Everything was cold. She smiled with a triumpth twinkle in her eyes, like she had already won. She had made the game and is just playing it to the end until she holds the final score. The Will looking back at her didn't have feelings or nobility. She just wanted more power, and to knock the real Guardians out of the picture. She was soulless…evil…

A powerful blast of magic came soaring her way. Will didn't expect it. She got hit squarely in her chest and flew backward until she hit the invisible force field that the Heart of Candracar must have been making within the distance of its glow. She slid down to a sitting position where she was still floating in the air and automatically moved her hand to add pressure to her head.

"Ow!" she cried. Her eyes moved upward above her hand and saw Evil Will walking up in front of her.

"Oh. The little Will got a headache. The perfect pain reliever is to give up. It's actually not that hard." Evil Will said to her mockingly.

"Then why don't you try it then." Will snapped back as she started shaking her head dizzily. "It would be better than fighting a lost battle."

"In case you haven't noticed, I have the Heart!"

"Well in case you haven't noticed, the Heart of Candracar is floating above us, well out of your reach." Will smart mouthed. Evil Will gathered a fistful of magic with fury and shot it at Will. Will rolled to the side instantly, sending the crackling energy soaring past her head. Will pulled herself up and closed her fists with readiness.

"Are you mad because it's not with you anymore?" Will asked as she sent her own energy blast toward Evil Will. She pulled up a force field that blocked her magic and ran towards Will.

"Well it's not with you either so I think we're in the same boat here." Will gritted her teeth with anger before Evil Will punched her in her stomach. Will doubled over and Evil Will kicked her in the head and she fell down to the floor coughing.

"So, I'm fighting a losing battle am I?" Evil Will said with a frown as she looked down at Will. "Why don't you just watch, and see who the person who wins the Heart of Candracar really is? I will be here standing over your pathetic body, I will watch the whole universe suffer at the absence of you and your friends. The famous Guardians of the Veil are run out of existence! That's how we lived! Now that's what's going to happen to you!" Will instantly shot out a blast of magic that knocked Evil Will off of her feet. Evil Will fell straight onto her back and didn't move for a few seconds. Will got to her feet. She didn't know what made her react so quickly like that. It was the way she was talking. It just made Will...angry. Will gasped quickly with surprise as Evil Will threw both of her hands in front of her and streamed out more magic toward her. Wll dodged her attack and landed on her hands and knees before pushing herself back up and doing a backflip. She landed back in a fighting stance right when Evil Will came back at her.

"Quick, but not quick enough for me." Evil Will laughed as she aimed a punch at Will's head. Will ducked and kicked her in the stomach. She stepped back and filled her hands with magic. She focused her mind on nothing but her power, although it was hard with all of the bad things that had been done to her started swimming through her mind.

Will wanted to make her pay.

_Her mind started swimming in earlier memories. Cornelia was yelling at them to get out of her room. She slammed the door and left them standing there in stillness, but their hearts were racing out of their bodies_.

Will scrunched her eyes together with pain and confusion.

_Will was crying on her bed. She couldn't move. The Guardians would be nothing._

Evil Will took her chance at Will's moment of thought and gathered a fistful of crackling magic into her hands.

_Susan tripped on the branch. Her head hit the ground while bleeding freely. An ambulance sounded in the distance._

Evil Will was urging her power to be stronger.

_Elyon was sitting between the agents. She had come back for help. Will and Elyon could both feel it. Phobos was back._

Evil Will released the power in her hands. It was coming closer, ever closer.

_The girls were surrounded in darkness, a nightmare that they couldn't escape._

"No!" Will screamed. Her head felt funny. Her body felt strangely unfamiliar with power swimming around in her bloodstream. She felt all of her feelings being closed in. She wanted to let them out. Everything was screaming inside of her head. Will knew that she had to connect her feelings to her powers. Her emotions no longer wanted to escape and run free. They were making her stonger, more powerful and calm. Everything that she had been through lately had made her want to run and hide. She wasn't hiding from herself, or anyone else anymore. She was the leader that she used to be.

Will waved her hands in front of her and kept her mind focusing on the energy. It evaporated before it could ever make contact with Will. Evil Will opened and closed her mouth in amazement. Will looked down at her hands and they filled up with powerful magic. She looked back at Evil Will with a frown. Her eyes filled with fear for the first time.

"I remember now." Will said so calmly that Evil Will kind of hopped back a little. Will returned to what she was saying and stared right into Evil Will's eyes. "It was you. During my first dream when we were at the park eating ice cream. You were the one that said that it all wasn't real, that it wasn't a dream, but a nightmare." Evil Will squared her shoulders and she gathered some magic in her hands also. They started walking around each other in the air. Will squinted with anger.

"You stole the Heart from me in that dream, and then you went and took it from me again. You have been haunting me, tantalizing me with your dreams, your whispering in my head." Will shot her magic out at the same time Evil Will did. The magic met in mid air and exploded and the evaporated. They started walking around again.

"You are the one who tried to convince me to give up the Heart and everything I had. You- you took my mother away from me!" Will's face started to get red. She couldn't help shaking. "My friends, everything was just to bring us to this point! I-" Will was staring right into her face when her eyes clouded over. Will couldn't see the Heart's glow anymore. Instead, there was an icy cold blue glow faintly around them. Will's eyes seemed foggy. They lost focus and she got lost in another memory. It wasn't her own though.

Will blinked her eyes and looked widely on the spot. Where was she? It looked like she was in the castle in Meridian, but different than where she was standing before. Her hairs stood on end and she shivered. I don't like this at all, she started to think. Not one bit.

"Stop where you are!" a voice called out. Will turned around with a captured feeling. She was staring straight at Elyon.

"Elyon! Where am I? Did you come here too?" Will asked. Elyon paid no attention to her though.

"Did you hear me? We are not supposed to go venturing off into the other universe! Even I wouldn't be stupid enough to try a stunt like that just for more power! There's no way you could do it anyway." Elyon called out. Will scrunched her eyes in confusion. She spun around when she heard another voice coming from behind her.

"We can do it. The other Guardians are losing their friendship, their powers that they have lost are leaking toward us."

"No way!" Will said. She was looking into the angry eyes of her evil self. Then that meant, that this was the alternate universe where the Evil Guardians had come from. She was watching what had happened to them earlier!

"It doesn't matter! Wreck havoc in this universe! Go back to Heatherfield and destroy something! I don't care! We don't have enough power to do anything otherwise, especially to go into the other universe and gain all of the power there!" Elyon yelled angrily.

"Wreak havoc in this universe? This universe is useless! Why should we be the ones with the excess power while those other good Guardians have everything? We are weak! This whole place is weak! We have been pushed aside for way too long. We are getting more power now, we are becoming more powerful than you are because of our opposites' mistakes! And you're jealous! That's why you don't want us to go!" Evil Will yelled, outraged.

"I will not be talked to this way!"

"You know what. We'll get Phobos. He would be the only one with guts enough to help us!"

"My idiot brother is good!" Elyon yelled.

"Oh, not our Phobos. The one residing in the Tower of Mists." Evil Will said with a smile.

"You couldn't, you wouldn't dare walk up in front of the Oracle's nose." Elyon told her with a dry laugh. Evil Will squared her shoulders.

"Watch me. And you can be looking forward to seeing us gain more power and cross into the other universe after taking the Guardians of the Veil's powers. We will break Phobos free, and we will get the Heart of Candracar, and the Crown of Light. Yeah, yeah we will. And then we will all rule over a universe with power while you watch over this weak joint! I am so out of here!" Evil Will stormed away and Will ran after her. Something was going on. She just decided to follow along. Evil Will burst a door open and Will saw the other four Evil Guardians crowded around a pool of water and looking in it with glee.

"Ohh! Will!" Evil Hay Lin said gleefully. "Can't you feel the power? We are more powerful than the others now! Look! The blonde one isn't speaking to them! They're-" Will blinked as a feeling of satisfaction went through the group. Evil Will smiled.

"We are ready. But first, a little message." She walked over to the pool and tipped her fingers into it. A figure started forming in the water's surface. Will looked closer into it. It was her.

"So, do we have a plan then?" Evil Cornelia asked. Evil Will nodded and took a deep breath.

"Yes. I just want to show this girl who really owns the Heart of Candracar, who really is more powerful. We just need to add a little pain and suffering and she will easily lead us to my Heart and the power to rule the universe." She stopped suddenly and looked up.

"Now, it has begun."

A swirl of colors swam past Will's eyes as the Evil Guardians started disappearing before her. Everything seemed foggy again. Will blinked. She was standing in front of Evil Will again. The blue glow started to grow stronger around them. Will could only focus on the woman in front of her. Will let the information sink in. Anger started pouring out of her.

"You have done everything!" she shouted. "It was pointless! You did all of this because you wanted more power? You wanted to really cause pain to all of us because you are greedy, cold hearted, and just wanted to have what we had?"

"Well of course you idiot!" Evil Will screamed. "Who wouldn't want to have all the power you had? I wanted it. I have it!"

"No you don't!"

"Yes I do!" Evil Will said with a glint in her eye. "You've lost your mother, the Heart, and your friends. I have lost nothing!"

"You have lost everything!" Will yelled. She didn't even realize what she was saying. It just came out. But she knew at once that it had to be true.

"Let's see what I have lost. Now, we will fight and I will get the Heart of Candracar and your powers!" Evil Will spat.

Something was stirring inside of Will. An impulse, a pounding in her heart. Something was trying to tell her something. But what? Will looked down to the ground. Her friends, they were barely moving on the floor. They were dying while she had all of this power up here. It wasn't fair. Will suddenly realized what was happening.

"The power was split between the two universes." Will quietly repeated out loud. "The reason why your universe was created was because there was too much magic in ours, it would have killed anyone with magic...that's why everyone is dying! We fought against each other and caused all of the power to be here!" Will just walked up to Evil Will. "You need to go back to your universe before everybody dies."

"I don't really care if they die." she said breezily. "I have all of the power here, and I'm not giving it up!" Will still stared at her.

"You're a monster."

"I know I am." she laughed. "Now let's get this fight over with."

Will's heart stopped. She felt sure that her friends were nearly gone. Tears started fighting their way past the surface of her eyes. She wouldn't let them. She had to do what was right.

('Be true to your Heart.')

Will stood her ground.

"I won't fight for what is mine. I won't let you stand here and drain the life out of everyone."

"What did you say?" Evil Will asked, surprised. Will could just hear the Oracle's words.

'Do what must be done.'

Will raised her hands and released her energy. Things started flashing in her eyes.

_Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin were all crowded at a table in the Silver Dragon when Yan Lin came up and pulled out the Heart of Candracar._

_Will could feel her heart melt gratefully when Cornelia finally forgave her after saving Cedric's life._

_Will snatched the Crown of Light away from Cedric and they worked together to remove the curse. Elyon put on the Crown and Meridian was erased of its gloom._

_They had just got back from the Karmilla concert and fighting Cedric. They all wrapped their arms around their shoulders._

"_Nobody will ever divide us." Irma declared._

Will felt the power leave her. She fell down to the floor. She felt weak.

Cornelia rubbed her eyes and helped keep Hay Lin to her feet. Irma sent Will a thumbs up and Taranee, a grateful smile. Will barely smiled back. Everything started to hurt again.

"Oh, you have made it so easy for me Will." Evil Will cried. She sent a powerful blast of magical energy to Will. Will stared on at the oncoming attempt at her life.

A pink glow overpowered the coldness surrounding her. The energy attack bounced off of another invisable force field surrounding Will and it hit Evil Will instead. Will took her hand away from her face and squinted at Evil Will getting up on her elbows and rubbing her eyes. She looked back at Will and her eyes and mouth opened in disbelief and anger.

"No! It can't! I won't let it!" she started to get up when Will was feeling incredibly warm.

"Will!" Hay Lin exclaimed. She started pointing above Will excitedly. Will looked up and gasped. She could see a figure that looked remarkably like Serenity. Her hair, though half was pulled back, started floating around her head and her hazel eyes were filling with light. Her long, white dress started flowing in a nonexistent, gentle breeze. She was smiling. She was also cradling the Heart of Candracar.

"Oh my gosh!" Irma said with her eyes wide open. "Isn't she dead?"

"Shut up Irma!" Cornelia told her with a punch in her shoulder. Will smiled a little more this time. They were okay. She was going to be okay.

('Be true to your heart.')

('And you, the Guardians of the Veil, will be united once more.')

Will grinned at Serenity and she nodded sweetly. The Heart of Candracar started floating down toward Will. Serenity started mouthing the words that came from the Whispers of her past, the former keepers of the Heart.

("Congragulations! You have earned the Heart of Candracar by willingly giving up your powers to save your friends.")

("Your own heart guided you, and that's what made the Heart choose you.")

"No!" Evil Will screamed. "I will not be forced back to who I was!" Serenity looked down at Evil Will who stopped dead in her tracks from snatching the Heart of Candracar from the air again.

("Guardians, you have defeated the nightmare that she has put you through.")

("Your friendship will guide you through anything, forever.")

The Heart of Candracar fell into Will's hand. Lightness was filling in her head and she smiled, for real this time. It went inside of her and she no longer felt broken. Her heart was whole and stronger than ever after the trials that she had just been through. Power, blistful magic was surging through her body in pure harmony with her soul. Will stood up and she slowly started to fall back toward the ground. Evil Will made the journey with her. It wasn't long before Will's boots lightly touched the floor.

"I can't believe you gave up your power to save us!" Taranee exclaimed as she went and gave Will a big hug. Will grinned and raised her eyebrows.

"We're best friends aren't we?" Will took to heart her friends' smiles. Especially Cornelia's. It had been a long time since she had smiled. Will took a deep breath and stepped forward. The Evil Guardians were all crowded around Evil Will who was hunched over and breathing heavily. She looked to the side and saw Elyon conjuring up some magical ropes quickly to bind her brother and Cedric.

"Do you have any idea how much you have done Phobos." Elyon sighed. She gathered up the broken fragments of her crown and tears welled up in her eyes. Will knew that they had to help, but just now wasn't the time. They had some business they needed to finish.

"So, you think you have won, don't you?" Evil Will huffed painfully. "This just means that we will have to wait a bit longer. Your powers are bound to wind down again."

"How dare you!" Cornelia yelled.

"We are friends again! And nothing is going to break us up again, right?" Taranee asked nervously. Irma looked thought ful for a moment.

"Well, unless another stupid lunatic wants to try and tear us apart again...no. It isn't possible." Irma said with her trademark grin.

"You just wait!" Evil Will cried again. "You are so easily broken! The Heart of Candracar doesn't belong to you!" Will rolled her eyes. And stepped up to her.

"Do you want to know why the Heart doesn't belong to you, Evil Will?" Will stared at the broken down figure on the floor and frowned.

"It's because you didn't have a heart in the first place." She backed up to the other four Guardians and they joined their hands and their powers together.

"Now!" Will shouted. Each of them concentrated on sending those five back to where they came from. There was only room for the Guardians of the Veil in this universe! They all reared back with absolute power and with a bind holding them together. The bind, it was their friendship. And of course, their powers united within the Heart of Candracar, and in their title. The Guardians of the Veil!

They unleashed their power and the Evil Guardians started running with fear. They didn't get far before the energy ball surrounded them. Their screams were heard as the ball started to shrink.

"Say goodbye to our Evil selves!" Irma piped cheerfully.

"No, say goodbye to the nightmare they put us through." Will corrected. The ball shrank out of existence with the last cried threats from the Evil Guardians. Will sighed. The worst was all over.

Will looked over at her friends. They rushed over with the biggest smiles she had ever seen them wear. Will laughed and grabbed them into a big embrace. She felt happy. And after what they just went through, happiness was the best gift Will could receive. She wiped tears from her eyes as Irma and Hay Lin started jumping up and down with a 'we did it' chant and Cornelia went to support Elyon. Will looked back as she felt Taranee's hand on her shoulder. Taranee nodded and Will nodded back. There was something else they had to do before everything was better again.

Wow! I hope that was good. I started to think that I couldn't pull it off. But, I can't exactly tell if I did. I hope you liked it though! Only 3 more chapters left. It's almost over and I might cry when it is. Oh well. Please send a review to tell me if I'm doing well. Remember to check my bio page often for updates and snippets of the next chapters. See ya again soon!


	28. Setting Things Right

Wow! I have had so much work this past week, I'm so glad I can finally relax for a while and type. More loose ends are tied up in this chapter as we have definitely past the climax. The next few might be shorter than I normally write because the main plot is pretty much over. (Although I'm not really sure that I know how to write short chapters anymore.) Hehe! Everything is now said and done so just read the chapter! I hope you enjoy it!

**Chapter 24: Setting Things Right**

Hay Lin's POV

Hay Lin sighed and gently rubbed her ankle. It didn't hurt anymore and it definitely wasn't broken. I guess gaining our full powers with the Heart of Candracar back was enough to make us all feel better, inside and out, she thought. Hay Lin grinned happily and giggled as Irma kept singing and started dancing around in circles. Hay Lin covered her ears.

"Ugh! Irma! If you were going to sing, you should have warned me so that I could go and buy some earplugs." Hay Lin said sarcastically. Irma stuck her tongue out and Hay Lin giggled again. She turned and looked behind her and her smile quickly tilted downward. Irma walked up to Hay Lin with a frown on her face too and they both joined the glum group gathered around Elyon.

"I'm so sorry, Elyon." Taranee said softly. Hay Lin saw tears spring uncontrollably from Elyon's eyes after she glanced down at the pieces of her precious crown in her hands. She wiped them away with a hollow laugh.

"Look at me. Sad over a crown."

"It's okay. It was special." Hay Lin said comfortingly.

"It _is _special." Cornelia reminded her. "We all now know what it feels like to have something taken from you."

"It's like when I didn't have the Heart of Candracar." Will said to Elyon. "I didn't feel whole. I felt weak and hallow inside, like there was a part of me missing." Elyon nodded with the same thoughts going through her own head.

"Yeah. I still have powers, but from that first moment that you placed the crown on my head…I was fully connected with my powers and was flowing with energy and happiness. I felt like I was filled with light! I am the Light of Meridian." Elyon whispered. Cornelia nodded glumly but firmly.

"There must be something we can do." She said while looking straight into Elyon's eyes. Elyon stared at her and then looked down quickly. Hay Lin felt sorrow fill her heart. Elyon felt broken, just like Will had been, just like the Guardians' friendship had been. They could do something. Maybe…just maybe…

Hay Lin smiled as Will seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. Will held her palms together and the Heart of Candracar lied gently in her hands. She grabbed Elyon's hand and she looked up.

"Well, what do you say that we combine our powers to fix it?" Will asked with a smile. "The Heart of Candracar has already conquered the Seal of Phobos, and the spell on the Crown of Light last time. I'm sure that we can seal the pieces together with our magic." Elyon blinked, and then she just grinned.

"Are you sure?" Elyon asked. Each of the girls wrapped their hands around a piece of the crown and placed them together in the shape of it in the air.

"Hey! Sure we are!" Irma answered loudly. "To make anything happen with us, all you need is a little friendship, a little faith, and a little magic!"

Hay Lin felt a very hot buzz surge through the crown and her hand. She started to release her energy and use all of her powers and will power to make the crown whole again. Hay Lin concentrated. Please let this work, Hay Lin pleaded silently. Let the crown not be broken. Elyon will make Meridian all better again. We will return to being friends again back in Heatherfield. We have made it out of the Dream Catcher alive and defeated the Evil Guardians and all of the trouble they have caused. Let this work…it has to work…

Hay Lin peaked through her eyelids and almost jumped with joy. Something was happening! The linings of the crown started streaming as a bead of light swam past the edges. The entire thing filled with a blinding, white light and Hay Lin used her arm to shield her eyes from the brightness. Hay Lin got a surprise shock when the crown sent an energy wave that made them all drop the crown and jump back.

"Yikes!" Irma cried while rubbing her sore hand. The crown started shaking and shimmering in the air. It glittered and sparkled with its beauty and inner light. Elyon walked forward and it slowly fell back into her hands. She stared at it numbly and then looked back at her friends.

"Guys-"

"Just put it on already." Cornelia said with an understanding nod. "Go and fill your kingdom with your light, again." Elyon smiled and nodded and Hay Lin ran forward. She could see the darkness past the windows, the fear and stillness of the people below. Well, she thought determinedly. That's all going to change right now!

Elyon placed the crown on her head and she automatically filled with light. The darkness and gloom started to disappear, just like it had last time. Elyon moved through the windows that Hay Lin had been looking through, effortlessly and floated toward the ground with the curious and now cheering Metamoorians. Only this time, she wasn't going to be alone.

"Hey what's- Hay Lin!" Will cried out when Hay Lin rose them all into the air and sent them soaring through the window like puppeteers. She giggled and flew after them.

Hay Lin touched the ground, but only to be swept up in the crowd of the people of Meridian. They were running and yelling and cheering with laughter as they hurried to gather around their queen. Ugh, Hay Lin thought as she flew quickly over to Elyon before she got stepped on. So this is the thanks I get?

"Queen Elyon!" one woman cried. "What happened? It wasn't, _him_ was it?"

"There were explosions from the castle. Are you alright?"

"The Guardians? When did they get here? And why are they, after they suddenly disappeared on us." One old man said gruffly.

"Quiet!" Elyon demanded. At once, the muttering ceased. Hay Lin took a deep breath and prepared for what Elyon was about to say. Hay Lin looked around at all of the buildings that had been burned and all of the terror that had filled this city. She felt very small and clouded with guilt when she realized something. All this stuff _had_ somehow been their fault. It was their friendship faults that led to this. Hay Lin felt a little scared about how Elyon would say everything. The people of Meridian had always cheered and been grateful when the Guardians came to save the day. Would they still feel the same respect when they found out that all of this was partly their fault?

"People of Meridian." Elyon had started. Hay Lin snapped back to reality. "Everything's fine now. Yes, Phobos did come back, but we have defeated him again. I assure you that he won't escape again." Elyon glanced back at the Guardians nervously. "Right?" she whispered with uncertainty.

"I really don't think that the Oracle would let that slime ball go free again." Irma whispered back, with her comment making Elyon smile.

"Besides, the Evil Guardians are gone, and he wasn't able to escape without them." Cornelia added. Elyon nodded and turned back to the crowd.

"Friends, you need not to know the whole story right now. It would take some time. Unfortunately, my friends don't have much of it at the moment." Elyon looked back and smiled.

"The Guardians of the Veil have just gone through a dangerous trial that their evil, alternate selves and Phobos had given them. Through all of the death and destruction, the Heart of Candracar being taken away from them, they faced it all and helped me revive the Crown of Light."

"What!"

"Alternate selves?"

"What happened to the Crown of Light?"

"The Heart of Candracar was taken from them!"

"Hey! I got it back." Will said defensively. There was a lot of muttering and Hay Lin started to feel queasy. That is, until Elyon spoke again.

"These girls literally faced a nightmare that had already killed an early keeper of the Heart of Candracar." Elyon said out loud. There was a hushed silence that allowed Elyon to keep talking.

"Their alternate selves had basically all of their powers. I know everything because I saw Phobos capture them after imprisoning me. Taranee's fears came true as their friendship and powers started to falter. Irma got stuck in her Guardian form. Hay Lin had her home burned down. Cornelia found Caleb ripped to pieces. And Will's mother died. Evil Will did horrible things to her, and to the rest of them. They got put in jail and broke out of it just to have their whole city find out that they were magical. Then, the Heart of Candracar was stolen from Will."

"But how did you get out alive, being imprisoned by Phobos?" one soldier asked.

"We forgave each other and made our friendship stronger." Will suddenly said. She blushed when she noticed everybody looking at her.

"We escaped and released Elyon. We all started fighting, and that's where the crown got broken. It was chaos after that. Everyone ended up getting weak and near death, but then I had a standoff with Evil Will for the Heart of Candracar-"

"What happened?" someone shouted.

"Well, it's obvious that we beat them if that's what you mean." Irma said with a yawn. Elyon looked at them hopefully for a moment.

"Guys? Are you ever going to fight again like I have seen you? I don't want to ever see you like that again."

"Of course we won't Elyon." Hay Lin said sincerely as she grabbed each of her friends into a rib- racking hug to prove her point. They all laughed and Hay Lin started feeling really good right now. "We will never break apart again!" Elyon turned back to the crowd with a wide grin.

"Now you see! Out of the hardships they went through, they put their friendship and powers together and prevailed through the darkness into the light! They saved Meridian and my crown. These are the real heroes here!" Hay Lin was shocked. Elyon stepped back from them and started clapping with a grin spreading across her face. Hay Lin whipped her body around so fast, her ponytails whipped her in the face. She blinked when some of the people started clapping. She could see Vathek clapping his meaty hands together loudly. Elyon's adoptive parents were smiling gratefully and clapping also. Daltar and his wife and daughter were shouting and encouraging the applause.

It wasn't long before the applause turned into a deafening uproar! Hay Lin giggled shyly and then smiled for real. They deserved it. After everything…this was something they couldn't turn down. Irma was grinning and waving with her occasional movie star winks and kisses with both hands to her lips and then spreading them out to everyone. Elyon walked back up to them and wrapped them into a big hug.

"I've missed you!" she told them all, but she gave an extra meaningful look to Cornelia. She smiled and pulled away while the people in the crowd started dancing and singing, and laughing.

"Promise me that you'll keep everyone safe and stay friends. Come and see me sometime."

"Sure!" Hay Lin exclaimed.

"Of course we'll come to see you." Cornelia told her as she squeezed her shoulder.

"We promise." Will added. She looked to the side of her. "Irma?"

"Hold on Will." Irma answered. "I just have to give out my autographs this time."

"Uh, it looks like it's a little too late!" Taranee told her as she looked down at her hands that were disappearing and blending in with the tree beside her. Hay Lin looked at her own hands. Yep, she thought with a sigh. Here we go, back to Candracar again.

"No! Wait!" Irma yelped. "I need to give them out!"

"Bye!" Hay Lin exclaimed happily as she and the others started waving good bye. Irma started pouting again.

"You know, this is so not fair. I'm really not liking the way those folks up in Candracar like to steal us away from the crowd…"

Hay Lin felt a great swish of air that mesmerized her with a deep feeling of freedom. She closed her eyes and sighed before opening them into the beautiful light.

"Welcome Guardians." Came the Oracle's usual greeting. She looked at him and he smiled. "You have beaten all of the odds. You won your powers back." Hay Lin could hear a silent swish of a robe near her. She turned around and squealed with glee when she saw her grandmother standing before her.

"You did it girls!" she spoke quietly and happily. "Oh, come here Hay Lin." Hay Lin laughed and felt herself contended in their embrace. She finally pulled away from her grandma and wiped away a tear and laughed again. She went and hooked her elbows with Irma and Will who smiled and giggled. Hay Lin felt happy. They had done it! They had finally won!

"You have brought Phobos and Cedric along with you I am guessing?" Tibor asked.

"Um…" Taranee answered. She looked around but then saw them both cowering again on the floor.

"Yeah. It's bad luck for them though, isn't it?" she continued. A few members of the Congregation stood up again and moved to take them to their prisons again. Hay Lin watched them disappear into the light.

"They won't be able to escape again, will they?" Hay Lin asked.

"No they will not." The Oracle assured her. "We will be watching them more closely now so that it doesn't ever happen again." He walked over and picked up a chest and walked back to them.

"Hey!" Cornelia shouted. "That's the chest that the Dream Catcher came out of!" The Oracle nodded.

"Yes, this is a darkness that no Guardian, or human, should ever encounter again." He snapped his fingers and the chest disappeared into thin air. "On the other hand, it seemed like you had some help while in the Dream Catcher."

"Yeah." Will said. "Serenity, and the other Whispers. Are they really Guardians from the past?" The Oracle confirmed that with a nod and Will fell silent. The Oracle turned to each of them.

"So young Guardians, after escaping the Dream Catcher, I hope you now realize that anything that happened to you in there wasn't real."

"Of course we knew, we-" Irma cut herself off as realization actually dawned on each of them. They had done a lot since getting out of there, Hay Lin really hadn't been able to focus on the fact that all of the things they had experienced earlier weren't real. Everything had seemed so real…but that meant-

"So Caleb's alive?" Cornelia exclaimed.

"The restaurant!" Hay Lin chirped.

"Us being locked up in the pokey?" Irma asked.

"Everyone in Heatherfield still doesn't know about our secret identities!" Taranee said with relief.

"And…my mom?" Will asked softly. The Oracle looked at her.

"She isn't dead, Will…yet." Hay Lin stopped smiling and felt like she had just smashed into a brick wall.

"Wha- what?" Will exclaimed with her eyes wide open in horror. "What do you mean by _yet?_"

"Will, your mother is still hurt. I can send you back to your world before the Evil Guardians escaped and freed Phobos and captured Cornelia. I can send you to before when Elyon came for your help and got surrounded by you agents, but no further."

"Why?" Irma asked fearfully. "Why can't you spin time back to even before she saw us in our Guardian forms?"

"Because, everything before the shift in the balance of the Evil Guardians escaping was your doings and your choices. I can rewind time only until when the universes' natural balance was broken."

"But that means-" Taranee started.

"That we need to go." Will said firmly. "Now."

Hay Lin braced herself. They had won everything, but they didn't need to save the world or a whole city. They needed to save a life, so simple but yet important. If something happened to Susan, Will might have to go away and the Guardians would be split forever. What would be worse, would be that Will probably couldn't handle being the Keeper anymore after she died. She had lost her once and could barely regain herself then. But this time…it was for real.

Hay Lin hoped that they wouldn't be too late.

Alright. Another chapter, come and gone. Ooh! What's going to happen now? Don't get too excited because it might be another week until I can post the next chapter. Review, because nice people review(kidding) but I would like them. I'll get the next chapter up soon! I promise!


	29. A Reason Behind Everything

1Okay everybody This story is very near the end now, and I hope everybody has enjoyed it so far. So…the suspense continues. The girls just pulled together their friendship and their powers united again got them out of the Dream Catcher. Will got back the Heart of Candracar and the Guardians made the Evil Guardians gone for good. Last time, the girls helped Elyon by restoring her crown and then had a meeting with the Oracle where they finally realized that everything in the Dream Catcher really wasn't real, except for one dreadful catch. What will happen to Susan now that she is still in the hospital(and those who have read the preview are probably more anxious about this?) Will she survive, or will Will have to go through the tragedy again…for real. Read this chap to find out!

**Chapter 25: A Reason Behind Everything**

Will's POV

The Oracle's words still cut through Will's heart like a knife.

"_She isn't dead, Will…yet."_

Will gasped at the thought that she might not get her mother back. Air finally ripped through her lungs for a dreaded breath that made her feel like crying. Anger swam in pieces of this sorrowful feeling like a shark swimming in the rough, powerful waves of the ocean, and biting away at her heart.

How…? Why was it that once everything finally seemed like it was going to be better, bad luck seemed to reel her back in. And why was she the catch of the day? Everyone else had been told that their worst fears weren't true.

But not mine, Will thought angrily. Why is this even happening to me?

She felt like she had been swallowed up into the emptiness of space. No, really. Will felt blind as a purple mist clouded her senses and made her shiver in a sharp wind that went through every particle in her body. She felt so cold…

("You must learn to take all of your hardships in your mind as something that has shaped you indefinitely.")

("Control your powers blissfully and keep your mind clear of negativity.")

("Keep your friendship together and strong.")

("And never make the mistakes you have made again.")

Will's eyes widened and she spun around.

"They- the Whispers are back" she exclaimed. Hay Lin looked at her with a worried glance.

"Come on Will. We've got to get to Heatherfield. They're not here. You're just worried about your mother." Will squinted her eyes in confusion. Only _she _could hear them?

"What?" she whispered. "What did I do?"

("It's not what you did that's important.")

("It's what you have learned from your experiences.")

("Through all of the danger and confusion, you took it on.")

("You proved that you are a great leader, Guardian, and the true Keeper of the Heart of Candracar.")

"But- but I was so lousy at being by their side when I was all lost and confused after my mom died…in the Dream Catcher. I ditched them. What if something happens to her for real this time…" Will whispered panickly.

("DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT?") The chorus echoed so loudly in her ears, Will clutched her head painfully.

("You have to believe in yourself and in your friends.")

("Trust your powers and your heart because they will never fail you.")

("You now have the choice to change your life forever in whichever way you choose.")

("What are you going to do about it?")

"_Will, your mother is dead."_

Did she really want to hear those dreadful words again? Will's heart filled with sorrow at the thought of how she felt in the nightmare of the Dream Catcher.

Lost.

Confused.

Heart broken, and it wasn't the Heart of Candracar either. Will knew that they needed to hurry.

"Will?" Taranee questioned quietly. Will sighed and opened her fist where the Heart of Candracar floated in her hand. There had to be some way to keep Susan alive!

At least she hoped so. They were running out of time!

"Heart of Candracar." Will called out. "Take us to the Heatherfield Hospital!"

Will felt her feet hit the back parking lot to the emergency room. She looked down at herself quickly. They were back to their average teenage selves. Too bad because it would be so easy to barge in there and get everyone away from them so they could save Susan. "Everyone out of the way! This is an emergency!" she would call as Irma, Cornelia, and Hay Lin would keep the people against the wall as they easily fixed her mom. The doctor then might say "No problem, but can I take you out for dinner this Friday?"

Will wanted to hit herself! What am I thinking, she screamed in her head. I'm joking around when my mother's life is on the line? What is wrong with me?

Well, maybe it was better than facing the real situation. Will started thinking as the girls ran toward the doors. I don't want to feel like I did in the Dream Catcher again, ever, Will realized as Irma opened the door and ushered the girls through. I didn't act like the leader I am supposed to be. I let my confusion and feelings of loss get in the way of what I needed to do, which was to get the Guardians to stick together and figure out what was going on, not to abandon everything until I could figure it out. What about this time though, Will wondered to herself again slowing into a fast pace when the strict nurse Will had seen a couple days earlier, or well, today as they had gone back in time, came out and told them that no running was permitted in the hospital if you weren't wearing a uniform. I can stop myself from feeling like I did when my mom was stripped from my life last time. The thing is, would she feel as confused and empty if something _did_ happen to Susan, or could she somehow pull it all together and face through it with her friends like she had faced it through with all of the obstacles they had to encounter? After all of that, Will hoped that it would be the lather. After all, the Whispers had never let her down before, they used to be Keepers of the Heart of Candracar. They must know what it's like.

The hospital seemed to be in a haywire. Nurses and doctors were running in every which direction with no telling if they even knew what they were supposed to be doing or where they were going. Some children were yelling and their parents were screaming to hush them up. Babies started to cry along with the wailing of people from rooms and the nurses yelling out the orders to the other clueless workers. And to add to all this confusion, Will could hear the whines and barks of the animals outside in the neighborhood. Things couldn't get crazier. One woman with a ponytail of black hair started running down the hallway until she accidentally bumped into Hay Lin.

"Oh, I'm sorry young lady. Excuse me." She said apologetically and then continued to talk on the walkie-talkie she held in her hand.

"Dr. Jason to room 303 for the Keller's triplets. Dr. Reynold, there's a woman who just arrived seven minutes ago. She fell and hit her head and blood is everywhere. Get down to the emergency room, now!" she looked apologetic again and shrugged.

"It's a little crazy right now girls. You might want to go outside where it's quieter, unless those dogs are still barking out there." She turned back to yell into the radio.

"Dr. Reynold You are needed in the emergency room right now A _lot_ of blood Now Oh for God's sake." She started sprinting down the hallway and Will couldn't see her anymore before she disappeared around the corner.

"A lot…of blood…" Will stated faintly. Irma grabbed Will's hand comfortingly.

"Come on" she yelled with alarm. Will's mouth was open and she seemed rooted on the spot. Irma threw Will's hand back down with exasperation.

"Somebody slap her or something" Cornelia cried. A man started running down the hall with a bottle of water and Irma instantly grabbed it sending the man spinning around in bewilderment at the end of the hallway.

"Sorry" Irma yelled before squirting the water into the now blinking redhead in front of her. "We needed it more than you did"

"Oh, did I just zone?" Will asked breathlessly while running and peaking through each door in the emergency room. Most of them were sad sights. Two teenagers were lying on beds with nurses around them trying to give them more blood in place of which was lost in an accident of some kind. A man had something weird done with his arm and another older woman had burns all over her face and arms and wasn't moving. Window after window, lights flashed in Will's eyes and she started to get nervous by every passing second that her mother was probably inching toward death.

"Wait a second" Hay Lin squealed after the other girls looked through a window in a door and moved on. "I think that's her" Will ran back and sighed with relief. What would life be like to know that she just passed the gateway to saving her mother's life, if she could perhaps, prevent her death.

"Good eye Hay Lin." Will told her before opening the door and letting everyone walk in. The room was empty Not a single nurse or doctor trying to help That definitely wouldn't go well with her Will instantly moved her eyes directly on the sullen woman on the bed. She ran over and gasped when she saw how shrunken Susan's head looked and how pale every part of her body was. Cold and shaking, Will just noticed the blood-stained bandage wrapped around Susan's head and spun around to face her friends with horror. Cornelia gave her a quick glance and stormed over to the door. Will couldn't make herself look directly at anyone in case she poured out a flood of tears. She couldn't even look at her mother. Looking at her would prove that this was really happening, that she actually may never see her mom again…

Will bit her lips and let a soft cry escape her. Cornelia looked through the window angrily.

"Ugh! Where are all the doctors? We need help" she screamed out the door before slamming it shut again. Will looked down at her mother, lying as still as a statue. A choked sob came out and Will gently placed her hand on Susan's bandaged head.

Suddenly, Will found herself someplace else. It was dark and windy as the grass and trees surrounding her swayed fiercely. What am I doing here, Will thought while pulling her hair behind her ears. She jumped when she saw her mother yards ahead of her in a white nightgown, passing out of the darkness and into the light.

"Mom!" she cried out. Susan looked over her shoulder curiously.

"Will?" Will blinked and she was standing beside her mom again. Something had broke her out of her trance. It was Taranee's scream.

"Will! She's not breathing!"

"No!" Will shouted. She started gently shaking her mother. "Come on Mom. Please! Wake up! Stay awake, breathe!" Taranee grabbed Susan's hand and put her fingers on Susan's wrist.

"The pulse...it's very faint." she said weakly. Irma looked very pale and trembly while Hay Lin was pacing and saying 'this is like Grandma all over again.'

"Grrr!" Cornelia growled before opening the door violently.

"I AM GOING TO SUE IF A DOCTOR DOESN'T GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW" Cornelia shouted with her face turning ever redder.

"A WOMAN IS DYING SO GET YOUR MEDICAL BUTTS IN GEAR!" she slammed the door shut with such force, that the paintings on the wall fell and crashed on the floor.

Tears started springing uncontrollably from her eyes. There was a lake being holed up for so long behind those brown eyes that started to stream down and cover her face in salty water.

"We're losing her Will!" Taranee cried with her own tears coming down her cheeks. Hay Lin had her arms wrapped around Irma who was rocking back and forth mouthing 'please, pleasohplease.' Hay Lin looked straight at Will and was strongly fighting the urge to burst out crying as she stared at her leader.

"What are we going to do?" she asked hopefully. Will shook her head back and forth.

"I don't know!" Will cried and she put her hands over her face. She couldn't handle this again! How could she take her hardships and let them shape her? Could she possibly stand tall and watch her mother die?

I can't do this, Will shouted in her head. Please don't do this to me! I can't handle it!

She had to try and get her mother to wake up.

Irma broke away from Hay Lin and started punching at Susan's chest like she had seen done in movies. Hay Lin ran over and calmed Irma down.

"The doctors are running down the hallway!" Cornelia shouted to them. Will grabbed her mother's hand and started speaking softly.

"Please Mom." she started painfully. "Don't give up. The doctors are coming and they're going to save you. You have to stay strong...I can't lose you again."

"It's getting slower." Taranee whispered while looking at Will fearfully. Will didn't look back though. She only had eyes for her mother.

"They're almost here." Cornelia said with her now horse voice. Her sentence got lost in Will's mind as if she were silently moving in slow motion through water. Her tears got lost and her head felt heavy...

_Sundays eating breakfast together and talking._

Gone.

_Arguing matches, however disliked._

Gone.

_Being a Guardian and protecting the universe with her best friends..._

Gone...

Will could barely think of anything being different than what it already was. Somebody was playing with her This couldn't really be happening. Will realized with a jolt how very real this all was.

She glanced over to the machine checking her mother's pulse. A zigzagged line appeared. It was slowly a few seconds later that it showed up again, but smaller.

"Mom! You can't leave me!"Will shouted. Hay Lin and Irma were both bawling now. Will looked at her mother and held her hand and put her other hand on her mom's chest while shaking away the tears.

Footsteps thudded down the hall, nearing the emergency room.

Will heard her heart beat in her ears.

A soft beep came from the machine.

She felt a heartbeat thump through her mother's chest into her hands.

And then...she didn't.

BEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPP the machine whined. A doctor and five nurses burst into the room and realized what was happening at once. They started to jolt her with electricity and Susan hopped on the bed. Will still had let go and was staring in stillness.

"Clear!" he shouted before zapping her again. The long beep was still heard.

"Come on!" he said desperately. "Clear."

Beeeeeeep. The doctor silently put away the equipment. Will's heart beat again.

"Time of death. 12:37."

"No!" Will cried and she put her face over her mother's.

"Please, no. I'm sorry! I'm sorry for being so secretive! I would have told you if I could. I'll keep my room clean, and bring up my math grade. We won't fight ever again. Come back! Please come back! I need you!" Will started crying and Cornelia gently pulled Will back as the nurses pulled a white sheet over her head. Will started struggling.

"Will..." she started softly. "She's gone."

"She's not gone! She can't really- Mom!" Will shouted. Hay Lin grabbed Will's other arm and held her in place.

"You can't leave me!" Will screamed and fell hard onto the floor and shook with sobs.

_Susan protecting her and being by Will's side, like a mother should._

Gone.

Will's head hit the ground and she willed her heart to stop.

You killed my mother again, Will thought angrily in her head. How can I possibly live through this?

What had she done wrong?

She was never going to see her mother again.

"We need some more help out here!" Irma yelled. Will's eyes went fuzzy and she couldn't see the doctor bend beside her and rub the pads together.

"Clear." he said once more before pressing it hard against Will's chest.

Electricity, pure energy poured through her bloodstream making her feel light without worry. The jolt was connecting with her powers and making her feel stronger. The dizziness left her and Will finally felt herself blinking again in light.

"Will?" Taranee questioned quietly.

Will blinked. Then she blinked some more.

Huh?

She was in Candracar again! Will looked around with an amazed expression on her face that sent confused looks to spread across her friends' faces.

"You blanked out there for a second." Hay Lin said. "You said that the Whispers were here, and then you weren't quite here.

"It's the stress!" Cornelia exclaimed. "Are we going to go save her or what?"

"You okay Will?" Irma asked with her eyebrows raised. "You're acting like she died already." Will gaped at the other Guardians and gasped. Had what happened before been just something that came from her head?

And if it was!

Will was about to jump up with joy before she realized that her mother wasn't dead yet, but could be soon.

What went wrong the last time? She didn't do anything to mess it up...That's when it hit her like the electric shock she had felt earlier. She hadn't done anything! She sat there and waited for the doctors while crying. Will shook her head at how stupid she had been. She was a Guardian! She had magic and could do anything if she wanted to. The Whispers' words rang through her head one more time. Just like in Elyon's castle, Will felt the strength and power to face any obstacle thrown her way. It was like somebody had been testing her and her friends through a series of trials to see if they could learn from their mistakes and be stronger as a result of them. Or even just to learn a lesson that they would carry for the rest of their lives. Whether it was the Oracle, the Whispers, destiny, Will didn't know. She did know that she could pass through this with flying colors! Particularly pink, blue, orange, green, and silver!

Will closed her eyes and opened her fist where the glowing Heart of Candracar pulsated above her palm and filled her with undying energy. Something had changed, and Will didn't know what it was, but she felt more in control of herself. She knew that they could do something great and powerful!

Seconds went by as the Guardians' footsteps echoed down the hallway toward the emergency room. Everything was going to be different from now on if I can save her, Will thought before pointing back to the ward door they had almost past. She opened the door and wasn't surprised to see that the only people in the room were the five girls and Susan on a hospital bed.

"Ugh Where are all the doctors? We need help" Cornelia screamed out the door before slamming it shut again. Will shook her head. Deja vu much?

"Forget about the doctors." Will said. "We have to do this ourselves." The girls blinked at her.

"Are you sure Will?" Hay Lin squeaked nervously. Will nodded firmly.

"Positive." Irma looked at Taranee and rolled her eyes.

"Will's gone nuts! She wants us to perform and operation!"

"Just trust me okay! It won't end up like last time." Will muttered.

"But last time you were in the Dream Catcher." Taranee reasoned.

"No the-" Will paused and thought better of continuing her sentence. Her friends didn't need to know, at least not right now.

"So Miss All-Of-A-Sudden-So-Confident." Cornelia stated. "How are we supposed to do this. We have powers over the elements. Not medical supplies or a magic lamp."

Will smiled confidently for the first time since hearing that her mother might die.

"Exactly! We have magic over the elements. We have the Heart of Candracar. We have a strong friendship that will let us do anything if we work together." Will exclaimed.

Hay Lin nodded and Cornelia stretched her hands up in front of her.

"Very optimistic for a girl whose mother is close to death." she responded. Will shrugged with a frown.

"We have to do something, and I'm not prepared to just let my mom slip by because I'm afraid she will slip by." Will looked up and saw that the girls were standing with their arms crossed.

"Well?" Irma asked slyly.

"We're waiting." Taranee said, full of sarcasm. Will lifted her hand and the Heart of Candracar released five colorful teardrops that went spinning toward it's owner.

"Water!" Irma yelled with glee.

"Fire!" Taranee exclaimed.

"Earth!" Cornelia said firmly.

"Air!" Hay Lin giggled lightly.

"Let's do this!" Will exclaimed and they each crowded around Susan's bed.

"Will! She's not breathing!" Taranee shouted. Will grabbed Taranee's hand and looked into her eyes. She then looked at each of the girls' eyes in turn and took a deep breath.

"This is it. Either it works or..." Will faltered and thought for one second of what would happen if it didn't work. Just for one second. They joined their hands together like they had so many times before, as they got ready to use their magic together!

"Hold on Miss Vandom!" Hay Lin called out.

"Yeah!" Irma yelled dramatically. "Whatever you do, don't go into the light!" Will didn't have time to laugh at Irma's drama queen ways, or even to think of what they were doing. There was no hesitation before the Guardians released their energy and magic to revolve around Susan. A pink glow flowed around in the room and Will hoped with all her heart that this would work, that she could see her mother well again.

Will heard her heart beat in her ears.

A soft beep came from the machine.

She felt a heartbeat thump threw the gentle vibrations of magic swaying with life around in the room.

And then...she didn't.

Seconds feel like hours...

A minute felt like a day...

Wishing for all of their powers...

To make her mother be okay...

Beep!

Will snapped her head toward the screen and thought she had mistaken it.

Beep!

Will jumped up and squealed with joy! She had her pulse back. Now Will would only truly believe it when her mother opened her eyes.

"Will, we have to change back now." Taranee said.

"Yeah-huh?"

"Taranee's right." Irma explained. "Unless you want your mother to have another fatal accident."

"Oh, right." Will said while using the Heart to change them back to their original selves.

"Will?"

Will's heart skipped a beat and she turned around with happy tears.

"Mom?"

"My head." Susan replied with pain. Will ran up to her and squeezed her with a big hug.

"I'm so happy! You're okay! I thought you were gone!" Will cried. Susan barely moved her weak hand and wiped away a tear that had fallen down Will's cheek.

"I'll always be here." Susan said. Will gave her another hug and then Susan looked at the other girls.

"Well, we do have a party here. What happened?" she asked weakly.

"You tripped or something and hit something sticking out of the ground." Taranee offered. "You were bleeding and had to go to the hospital."

Cornelia gave a warm smile and walked up to peer out the door.

"The doctors are running down the hallway." Cornelia shouted to them.

"Will, I had the strangest dream. I saw you and the other girls as some kind of older, beautiful fairies. Then, this one man with blonde hair was yelling for a crown, and people said that you were murdered. Then every-"

"Save your strength Miss Vandom." Hay Lin told her soothingly.

"They're almost here." Cornelia said.

"But Will. I heard you saying that you were sorry. You were going to do things, and not fight anymore. I don't think I was really conscious..." Susan faltered and she started closing her eyes.

"But I heard you." she whispered.

A doctor and five nurses burst into the room and didn't realize what was happening at once. They stared and stared some more at the moving patient on the bed.

"What- um, keep her awake. If she falls asleep with a head injury, she can lose consciousness." the doctor ordered. Cornelia walked over and gently shook Susan who opened her eyes at once.

"I'm not sleeping." she said and Hay Lin giggled.

"It's- it's a miracle!' one of the nurses exclaimed. Will stroke her mother's hair with a sigh. That was exactly what it was!

Or, maybe it wasn't.

A miracle was something that just happened out of pure luck or coincidence. Or even miracles had a reason to back it up. Will knew that she sounded like Cornelia thinking this, but there really was a reason behind everything, whether it was girls from an alternate universe coming to steal the Heart of Candracar, or a Crown getting broken, or even going through the Dream Catcher and still retaining sanity. Will felt very grateful, for everything at that moment. At the moment that the nurses were giving Susan a treatment with the girls surrounding her bed with relieved sighs.

_The thoughts of never being able to be with her friends._

Gone.

_The thoughts of never being strong enough and not being able to do what she knew, in her heart, was the right thing to do._

Gone.

_And this whole series of traumas and lifelong lessons._

Gone.

Sort of sadly though.

"Will. So now, is everything going to change?" Susan asked softly. Will grabbed her hand and smiled at Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin.

"Yes." she answered.

"Everything is going to be different from now on."

Wow! I finally finished this chapter. I can't believe that I only have one more chapter to write until this story is over. I hope all of you guys liked this chap! If you can, please review!


	30. The One and Only

Well, this is it! The very last chapter of my first fic. I have been writing for five months now, and how fast the time goes by! I would like to thank all of the kind people who have reviewed this story! I wouldn't have made it that far without everyone's encouragement and the inspiration your words gave me! You guys rock! Note that this is the ending, never really super exciting or long because all the major conflicts are solved, but I hope you like it all the same. Now, the last chap…

**Chapter 26: The One and Only**

Cornelia's POV

Cornelia sighed and inhaled Caleb's sweet scent and leaned back against her window with a new lightness in her mind. Cradling her love, Cornelia turned to look out her window. It was sunny again, and kids were playing by the streets while eating ice cream. It seemed kind of familiar to Cornelia, but the happiness spreading through the neighborhood was starting to grow on her. She had to go back to school tomorrow, and was really happy about it. She was afraid of leaving Caleb alone without her protection, but it really was her chance to join the outside world again. Doing homework, going to the mall, and hanging out with her best buds was what she could bring back into her life. She really needed that break from being depressed. Cornelia stroked the petals gently and chuckled lightly. It's funny that a while back, this _would _be my break from everything. It just goes to say how everything had changed since she learned that she was a Guardian of the Veil.

"Meow?"

Cornelia looked down to see Napoleon rubbing his head against her hand and purring. Cornelia scratched the cat behind his ears and smiled.

"Yeah, but you'll protect Caleb, won't you Napoleon?" Cornelia said as she picked up the cat and held him against her chest. Ever since Cornelia walked in her room to see Napoleon scaring off a crow that was trying to harm Caleb, she had loved that cat in a split second. She had never really liked him, especially since Will gave it to her as a present to cheer her up. She was in no mood to have people try and cheer her up, and gave the animal to her little sister, Lilian. But we're friends now, Cornelia thought as she scratched under his chin. I really should thank Will. I haven't had time for anything with all this confusion in the past days.

Cornelia's thoughts went back to the events of the past few days. It seemed to be a non ending nightmare that Cornelia was quite happy to escape. Even if she was in her room most of the time, Will and the others had said everything that had happened. It all must have started with Will having a strange dream where an evil reflection of her self came and stole the Heart of Candracar away from her. Then, everything went downhill from there with Susan seeing the other girls in Guardian form and then getting a severe head injury, Elyon going back to Heatherfield with bad news, and Cornelia getting kidnapped and put into the Dream Catcher with her friends following soon afterward. Not to mention Phobos coming back with a bunch of loonies who had most of the girls' powers, and seeking out their revenge. Cornelia brushed away some hair in her face and closed her eyes while feeling the warm sun on her cheeks as her head was swimming with thoughts.

It's all over though, Cornelia, so stop thinking about it, she told herself. We became friends again and got our powers back. It was weird to think that they had to have a tragedy happen, along with many, many more road bumps for the girls to put all their pride and arguing behind them and apologize for everything and be like the great group of friends they used to be. It sure wasn't easy, and she sure didn't like all of the bad stuff that had happened to them, but they did get a lot out of it. They got their powers back, their friendship pulled back together, and a deeper understanding of everything, like the magic of friendship and the courage to keep going, no matter what happens.

Getting up, Cornelia stared at her not-so-clean room. She closed her eyes and felt the magic well inside her. She could hear the swooshing and objects flying around her head. By the time she opened her eyes, the room was spotless and she smiled. Yep, just like it used to be, Cornelia thought with a grin.

"Cornelia?"

Cornelia looked over to her doorway and saw a little blonde head popping out from behind it. Lilian started rubbing her eyes and yawned widely.

"What happened? I had a really scary dream." She started. Cornelia walked up to her.

"It's okay. It was only a dream." Cornelia looked behind her when she remembered how very real all that was. "Um, maybe if you go play, it'll take your mind off of it." Lilian looked at her weirdly and then nodded her head. She was about to shut the door when she said something else.

"Oh and one of your friends is here. She wants you for something." Cornelia's eyes popped open and she walked out the door to look over the stairs to the bottom floor. Sure enough, Will was standing there shyly with a smile.

"Want to get the other girls and go for a walk." She said nervously. Cornelia stopped for a moment. She knew what Will was thinking. Will must think that I would still want to stay here and mope all day, Cornelia thought with a pang. Suddenly, she remembered about losing Caleb, how hurt and lost she felt. What _would_ happen if she left him? But she couldn't just protect him forever and ignore her life. Ignore her Guardian duties, normal responsibilities, and her friends…

"Sure, Will." She responded out of her own surprise. She shook off her bad feelings for once and gave a small smile.

"I'd love to."

* * *

"Wow! Look at us all together again!" Hay Lin chirped as she started skipping down the sidewalk. "It's like how we used to be!"

"Better." Taranee corrected. "I don't know about you guys, but I feel really free…and powerful!" her brown eyes sparkled as a flame of fire lit up in her hands.

"Hot potato anyone?" she asked playfully. The girls shook their heads and laughed.

"Oh! It feels so good out here!" Hay Lin yelled out while stretching her arms out into the warm and sunny afternoon. A cool breeze fluttered by and Hay Lin smiled with satisfaction.

"Yeah, it does." Cornelia agreed. "And I'm finally going back to school with you guys tomorrow."

"Really? You sue you don't need a longer break?" Will teased. Cornelia laughed and pulled her hair back only for it to fly back in her face moments later.

"Well, I couldn't really call it a break after being sad all these weeks, getting kidnapped and put into a Dream Catcher, and having to battle Phobos, the EG's, and help Elyon save Meridian along with Heatherfield. I think doing math is better than all that."

"Speak for yourself." Will grumbled but then smiled at Cornelia and the group broke into another round of giggles.

"Cornelia's actually laughing!" Irma shouted. "Get the reporters! The video cameras! Oh, speaking of. I still need you to run that whole 'I'm sorry' scene again." Irma said while backing up and pretending to be working the camera. "We need to add drama! Come on Corny! Smile for the camera!"

"Get out of my face Irma." Cornelia responded with a pretend punch in Irma's direction. Irma sniffed and threw her head up.

"Well, she's not completely back to normal. She didn't really punch me."

"Have I ever?" Cornelia asked with her eyebrows raised. Irma grinned with her hands on her hips.

"No, but I can tell you've always wanted to." Irma told her.

"There's definitely no denying that." Said Taranee. The girls started walking quietly down the sidewalk. The laughter had died down and Cornelia assumed that everybody was thinking silently. Well, Cornelia had had enough time to think. She was just glad she had her best friends back. Cornelia looked cautiously around at the girls. They all seemed to be wondering of how to say something, but it was Will who finally sighed and blurted it out.

"So, what about Caleb?" she asked nervously. The other girls stopped and looked toward Cornelia cautiously. They knew it was a very touchy subject for Cornelia, and Cornelia was grateful for them not really wanting to hurt her feelings. She turned around when she was aware of some tears forming in her eyes at the thought of Caleb, beautiful Caleb sitting in a vase in her room without her there to talk to him. Her vision changed. She saw herself sitting in the middle of her room, cradling various flower petals and crying her heart out while Irma stood wordlessly in her doorway.

No, she told herself as she wiped away the tears before they could fall down her cheeks. I won't think of him that way. He'll be okay.

"Cornelia?" Cornelia flipped her head and her eyes were set straight into an uneasy smile.

"Well, I decided that I couldn't stay with him all the time. I was becoming inhuman. I was ignoring all of my responsibilities, my family, and you guys." She turned her head upward and could see dark blue forming in the sky away from the colorful area surrounding the sinking sun.

"I dealt with him turning into a flower and then dying. I think I'm strong enough after going through that. Besides, Caleb has a protector besides me. Otherwise, Caleb might have been gone a while back." Hay Lin started patting Cornelia on the back with comfort, as in saying that she did the right thing. Will and Taranee were wondering who was helping Caleb though.

"Who is it?" Will asked curiously. Cornelia grinned and remembered that it was Will who gave her that wonderful cat in the first place. She ran up and gave Will a rib racking hug.

"It is Napoleon, the cat you gave me." Cornelia whispered. She could see Will smile with astonishment.

"So, you don't hate me for giving him to you?"

"Of course not! Thank you so much! He was the best present I have ever gotten." Cornelia exclaimed. Will started rubbing her ribs with a slight smile.

"So, I guess everything is back to normal then." Hay Lin said while looking up in the sky also.

"Well, it's as normal as it could ever be, with us being the protectors of the universe and all." Taranee reminded her. She stopped and looked toward Will. "Have any bad nightmares lately?" Will shook her head and pulled her hair back with a breezy smile.

"Nope! Nothing with the Evil Guardians or Phobos, or anything bad happening at all! I did have a dream with Serinity and the Whispers, but I'll tell you guys later."

"What? But why can't you tell us now?" Irma demanded.

"I can tell you that they lived more happily than it seemed to us. They are all together with other Guardians and watching us from Candracar." Will answered.

"Along with Grandma." Hay Lin sighed.

"And the Oracle and his two slimy butt prisoners." Irma announced slyly.

"You wouldn't be referring to Phobos and Cedric, would you?" Taranee asked. Irma just smirked.

"Who else?" she responded. Another giggle went through the line and Cornelia actually found herself laughing at Irma's joke. Cornelia looked around the park through all of the swaying trees and stopped. She tugged on Will's shirt, who turned around with a confused expression.

"Oh Will. Look who's here." Will's eyes wondered in the direction that Cornelia was looking at and she gasped.

"Matt! What's he- um." Each girl was looking at her expectantly and Will sighed. She took a deep breath and stood up straight.

"I'll be right back you guys." She said and started walking off toward her crush. Taranee and Irma were flabbergasted.

"Wha-what are you doing, Will?" Taranee yelled out in concern.

"I don't know!" Will called back. "I figured that after doing everything we just went though, I can do anything. You know." Will shrugged. "Trust your powers and your heart because they will never fail you." She turned back around and started to get nearer to Matt. This wasn't really like her. Has something really changed inside of us, Cornelia wondered. Our courage has sparked up, along with trust and a knowing of deeper meaning. Hmm, she started to think again as she waved Will off. Maybe all of this bad stuff did have a purpose. It was terrible and all, but it made them stronger, just like every battle they had faced had. And, it brought them back together. Irma whistled and Hay Lin started cheering.

"You go girl!" Hay Lin yelled while punching an encouraging fist into the air. Cornelia gave a thumbs up and winked. Irma and Taranee were still looking confused.

"Where do you think she got that from?" Taranee asked, referring to the last sentence Will had called out before running off.

"No clue." Cornelia answered while looking over Taranee's head to see if she could catch a glimpse of the crushing couple. The sun was getting lower right behind Will and Matt, so she couldn't see more than two figures near each other in the blinding light.

"Oh! I can't take anymore of this! I can't see a thing." Irma whined throwing down her hand that was positioned on her forehead to block the sun so she could see clearer. It didn't seem to be working though because Irma smirked slyly and came up with another clever plan.

"I say we sneak behind those two trees over there and spy on the two of them. Maybe they'll kiss! Or maybe we can make them get on a date!"

"What if she can do everything perfectly without our help." Hay Lin said going up and down with the heels of her feet.

"Are you kidding! This is Will we're talking about! She has been crushing on this guy for months and she still hasn't gotten the nerve to-"

"Ask him out on a date."

Cornelia turned around and saw Will come up behind Irma while blushing furiously and giggling. Cornelia grinned and wrapped her arm around Will's shoulders.

"So, I'm guessing he said yes!" she said pointing her finger accusingly up at Will's dazed grin. "Fess up! What else happened?"

"Oh I don't know. Maybe you'll have to find out yourselves. Perhaps when- the evil Guardians come back and force us into the Dream Catcher again." Will said thoughtfully with a sly grin.

"Did she just say she wasn't going to tell us?" Taranee asked with her eyebrows raised.

"Oh, I'll get it out of her." Irma announced as she rolled up her sleeves. "Get her!" Will started running around the trees in circles while Irma started yelling with her arms outstretched. Cornelia was laughing so hard, she could barely hold herself up. Her? Laughing again like it was the only beautiful thing in life. She wouldn't have figured just a couple of days ago. Or, before the whole 'unbalanced universes time warp' thing.

"Come on." Taranee said, grabbing both Hay Lin and Cornelia and leading them up the hill in which Will and Irma were already climbing. Cornelia looked around and remembered the last time they walked up this hill. They were looking for Will because she had just left the Guardians after discovering her mother was 'dead'. Then, they had an encounter with Cedric in disguise as he kidnapped her and led Cornelia off the trail with Irma following by a statement suggesting that Caleb was hurt. Hay Lin and Taranee stayed and tried to save Will, which Hay Lin finally did after Will was being dangled out of a window in Simultech. Police surrounded the place and arrested Hay Lin and Taranee for murder! Goodness, Cornelia moaned as she rubbed her head. Way too much drama! And the problem is, that's only a small portion of it!

Cornelia breathed in the cool evening air and glanced at the sky. A dark sky was set behind them in stillness, but the sun lit up the sky in front of them with a colorful back round. It was kind of like leaving all their traumas behind them into the darkness of the night, but the stars starting to twinkle in the blackness were the good things that actually came out of it. And the sun? A beautiful and bright future. With her best buds, as a Guardian of the Veil, or whatever else was in store for her and each of the girls standing next to her.

"So, do you think it's all over?" Taranee asked. Cornelia looked up and shook her head.

"No. We have our powers, and our friendship."

"I kind of meant everything that just happened to us." Taranee corrected.

"Oh, well, I don't think anything will truly ever be over. We are the Guardians. Bad things will be coming for us left and right for the rest of our lives." Irma answered. Cornelia's stomach tightened regretfully. What had they gotten themselves into?

"But, we won't go to school tomorrow and see our evil selves sitting in our desks or anything, will we?" Hay Lin asked while twirling her hair around on her finger. Will just laughed.

"I don't think so Hay Lin. They won't be taking our place in any way. They won't be the Guardians of the Veil, and they won't _ever_ have the Heart of Candracar." Will pulled out the Heart and it glowed gently above her outstretched hand.

"How do you know?" Irma asked. Cornelia rolled her eyes.

"How do you think? I'm with Will here. Those creeps aren't gonna mess with us again. There can't ever be anyone like us on this earth, even in this universe. We are the one and only, and if they don't like that, they can keep planning their revenge or whatever."

"But it wouldn't matter. We will never brake apart again." Taranee said defiantly.

"Group hug!" Hay Lin cheered.

"Aw, Hay Lin. Come on." Irma started to whine before Hay Lin grabbed all of them as tight as she could and grinned happily. The girls laughed again and started walking.

"Yeah." Said Will brightly with a smile as she walked along with her friends. "We are the one and only Guardians. And we are each our one and only-me!"

Cornelia realized that they were truly united once more, and now even stronger than ever. They were W.i.t.c.h. again, the Guardians of the Veil. And each of them was glad of it as they walked arm in arm into the sunset, into their next adventure.

And no matter what ever happened, Cornelia wouldn't have it any other way.

Wow! I feel so good! I finally finished my story! I am satisfied and I hope you guys were too. I loved writing, and I'll always remember this experience. I thought it would be short, but I finally convinced myself that writing short chapters is no longer possible for me. ;) Thanks again to all of my reviewers and anybody else who has read my story. Now, I'll just be working on 'Through Different Worlds' and its sequel, P.o.w.e.r., which will be a new generation of Guardians, sort of. Just read them to find out! See you guys later and I hoped you liked this chap and the story! (I still need to sit down and read the whole thing. Oh, that'll take hours…) Bye!


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